Most Exalted Potentate of Love
by Escher's Relativity
Summary: Spencer Reid's mother once told him when you're ready, certain types of girls, the right type of girls will find you.  It's only when you're ready. So, is he? Rating may change.  S. Reid/OC
1. Chapter 1

"But the Almighty Lord hath struck him and hath delivered him into the hands of a woman" – The Vulgate, Judith, xvi. 7

**Chapter 1**

It was a beautiful autumn afternoon in Fredericksburg, VA. The leaves were starting to change color and fall, but it had only just begun so there was still quite a bit of green foliage still on the trees. It was chilly out, but not quite cold.

A young woman was walking by the park with a leash & coffee in one hand, and was digging through her purse with the other. She almost tripped on the uneven sidewalk. As she tried to catch herself and keep from spilling her coffee, her brindle Bugg (a 1st generation pug & Boston terrier mix) took off. "Oh, come on." She mumbled, calling and chasing after her young puppy. The dog ran through the park as fast as its little legs would carry it.

A young man was sitting on a low concrete barrier, reading an old, cracked, leather bound book, seemingly skimming the pages. Next to him was a young teenager, who was playing chess by himself. The dog jumped on the lap of the young man. He jumped from the shock and fell backwards off the barrier, with the dog landing safely on his chest and his book landing on the other side of the barrier. The teen watched the scene play out, flabbergasted. "Shame on you, Reed," the woman said exasperated when she ran up.

The man looked confused, holding his hands up, either in defense or not wanting to touch the dog. "Ex… excuse me? Your uh, your dog just came up to me."

"Oh, no. I'm sorry. I was talking to him," she said, nodding to her dog and placing her coffee on the barrier. She picked the book up and held her hand out to help him up. He apprehensively accepted, holding the dog with his free hand. When he set the dog down on the barrier she handed his book back to him. "I'm really sorry about that. He just got away from me." She took the leash again as her puppy finished off what was left of her coffee.

As she looked on disappointedly at the little dog in a sweater, the young man now had the chance to really notice her. She wasn't striking in the traditional sense, but she had this quirky and charming air about her. She had her brown hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her green eyes sparkled behind her tortoise retro-styled glasses. She stood in classic black pumps, her fishnet stockings climbed up her legs to her black pencil skirt, her fitted tweed blazer with leather elbow patches hid a black screened tee. He fidgeted as he gave her a once over. Finally he blurted out, "H...hi. I'm, uh, D-Dr. Spencer Reid. Y-Y-You, um, um, Spencer. You don't have to call me doctor."

She snapped back to reality and smiled. "Amanda Karlsson. Oh, you probably wanted to get back to your reading. Sorry," she said, throwing the now empty cup away. She picked up her dog, "Thank you, Reed, now I'm going to have to get more coffee." She looked at Spencer and smiled, "Enjoy your Balzac, Spencer. It's a really good one."

Spencer looked at the front cover his book. When he looked back up she was walking away. Spencer wasn't really a social person, he much rather would spend his time with his nose buried in a book or working. So, it came to a shock to him when he jumped over the barrier to catch up to her. "You've read Balzac?"

She stopped and turned to him. "Yeah, not my favorite 19th century writer but he's up there. Only behind Poe & Sacher-Masoch, really. Though, I read the translated Balzac and not the original French. I just knew what the title was in French, beyond that I'm lost."

"I don't think I ever met anyone that's read Sacher-Masoch. Especially since 'Venus In Furs' is his only work in English."

"Well, it's the only novel I've read of his, but my copy also had some of his letters and I read 'the Confessions of Wanda Sacher-Masoch' by one of his former wives. 'Venus' is maybe my favorite book. I find it disturbing & I'd never want a relationship like that, masochist and all, but there are some things he's said that are quite… well, romantic."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Before they knew it, Spencer & Amanda had reached the coffee house. The entire time they had been talking about books. Spencer had more knowledge, but on some subjects she held up her end of the conversation quite nicely. When she didn't, she listened intently, wanting to learn from him. Amanda hooked her puppy to a D-ring that was attached to the outside wall of the café. "Be a good boy, Reed."

They went inside and ordered their coffees. "Why'd you name him Reed?" Spencer asked.

"So I could meet you, silly."

"Really?"

Amanda rolled her eyes and laughed. "No. I named him after Lou Reed, the lead singer of the Velvet Underground. Not the brightest bulb, are ya?"

"While I don't believe that intelligence can be accurately quantified, I do have an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, and can read 20,000 words per minute. So, I'm kind of a genius."

"So you're incredibly smart. That doesn't mean you know much about the world around you. I was making a joke earlier."

Spencer was about to say something when Amanda took her coffee & headed outside. "Why does she always do that?" he thought to himself. Amanda was sitting at the patio table with Reed on her lap. Spencer sat across from her. Her purse was on the table. A Nietzsche book was peeking out. "Which Nietzsche are you reading?" he asked, stretching to peer into her bag.

"Thus Spoke Zarathustra."

"That's a good one. It's widely considered his best and most well-known book. Composed in four parts between 1883 and 1885. It is a collection of dense allegorical short stories that are thematically linked. Much of the work deals with ideas such as the "eternal recurrence of the same", the parable on the "death of God", and the "prophecy" of the Übermensch."

"Show-off." Spencer nervously smirked. "Are you always this nervous or is it me?"

"I'm pretty much always like this."

She smiled & took a sip of her coffee. "I'm just happy you ordered a coffee. Not too many men I know drink it. I find that surprising because, over 50% of Americans over 18 drink coffee every day. That's over 150 million daily drinkers. The average consumption in the United States is 3.2 cups of coffee per day. Maybe I just drink too much," she shrugged.

"How much do you drink?"

"Not as much as Voltaire or Balzac, but way more than the average. It's actually closer to Voltaire and Balzac, I think."

"I pretty much have to drink well above the average amount for my job."

"What is it that you do?"

"I'm a Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. We psychoanalyze crime scenes in order to gain a better understanding of the criminal who might have committed the crime."

"I know what it is. I wanted to do that my senior year of high school."

"What stopped you?"

"Above all else I am a dilettante in life. I came to realize that learning about all of that, was just a hobby. Decided I'd rather do something in the arts. So now I do hair, paint, crochet & knit. However, I'm still incredibly intrigued by behavior sciences & serial killers."

"We don't just deal with serial killers."

"I know. I just tend to be more drawn by them than say, mass murders. Then again, I also have an affinity for the mob back in the Prohibition era."

"That's… really weird."

"Everybody has a weirdness to them. I'm just upfront about it," she shrugged. Spencer pursed his lips and nodded. "Don't tell me that you're not weird."

"I don't think I'm that weird. Everybody else does." He quickly and nervously ran his hands through his hair and took a sip of his coffee. Amanda lightly laughed through a smile.

They hadn't noticed the sky was getting dark until there was a roll of thunder and a hard wind came through. "Only in Virginia do you get a thunderstorm a month."

"Did you know, though thunderstorms can occur anytime, they are most common in the summer months, during the late afternoon and evening hours? Virginia averages 35 to 45 thunderstorm days per year. Between 1959 and 2003, lightning has killed 62 people in Virginia and injured at least 252 people." As he said this there was a flash of light, a loud rumble and rain began to pour down. Reed began to bark.

"On that note, I think we should get going. I hope you didn't park far." Amanda said putting Reed down and standing up.

"Actually, I walked." Spencer said, looking up at the sky.

"Come on, I'll drive you home. I can't just leave you out here like this." She threw away her cup and started to walk to her car. Spencer followed suit.

"Um, thanks. Do you… no, that would be presumptuous of me. Forget it." Spencer said, wiping some hair that was plastered to his forehead away. The storm was getting worse by the second.

"What? What is it, Spencer?" Amanda asked, the weather making it hard to hear him clearly. She picked Reed up, as he was pulling her arm too hard.

"Can you drop me off in Quantico? It's a 30-45 minute drive, depending on traffic. I'm due in at work and in this weather it would take twice as long for me to go first."

"Yeah. No problem at all." Amanda was trying to run as fast as she could, but her skirt and shoes were making it difficult. "Hey!" she called out to him, trying to get his attention. When she had it, she tossed him her keys. "It's the Tropical Turquoise 1957 Chevy Bel Air. You can get there quicker than I can. Go unlock the doors, they aren't automatic." Spencer ran to the car and got in, unlocking both doors, before putting the key into the ignition. When Amanda got into the car, she sighed as Reed jumped in back. "Thanks," she said as she reached into the back seat and grabbed an old t-shirt and dried her face with it. She held it out for Spencer to take. At first he was apprehensive, but after she assured him that it was clean, he grudgingly took it. After all, he didn't want to drip any more than necessary all over her white and turquoise leather seats. As he dried off, Amanda started driving in the direction of the BAU offices at Quantico.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed! Super appreciated. Keep them coming, makes me feel loved and want to continue instead of wondering if you're actually reading and/or hate it. If you haven't, please do, it's my first story an need the feedback.**

**Chapter 3**

"You know, when indoors, I love storms. They're like a warm blanket, very comfortable… especially when curled up with a good book and a glass of wine. When I'm outside, or in the car… I can't say I'm too big of a fan. Reed, naturally, is a bit afraid of thunder and lightning." Amanda said, just before a bright double flash occurred.

"I can see why. " Spencer said, grimacing. A loud crash of thunder made everyone jump a little.

"I hope it's okay if you're a little late. I just… I don't feel comfortable driving too fast in this weather, especially in this car."

"Yeah, no, it's fine. I'm texting my boss that I may be late due to the severity of the weather."

"Yeah, I'm so glad I finished my appointments for the day." She was handling the car the best she could considering how strong the howling winds were gusting. Luckily, classic cars such as this were basically big heavy boats, but she had to really watch the slickness. Spencer was white-knuckling down Route 1, partly due to the weather but partly because there were no seat belts. Reed was standing on the backseat with his front paws on the back passenger door, barking at every thunder roll and lightning crack. For a quite a few minutes, they sat quietly, the only noise was due to the weather and Reed. "So…. I'm just trying to make conversation here, to distract us from the weather and Reed but not heavy enough to distract from my driving. Where are you from, Spencer, and what kind of doctor are you exactly?"

Spencer wanted to be distracted but was having difficulty doing so. "Um, originally I'm from Las Vegas. I hold PhDs in Mathematics, Chemistry and Engineering and BAs in Psychology and Sociology and am working on receiving a BA in Philosophy. What about you? Where are you from?" His voice was still a bit shaky.

"Chicago. Well, I grew up in Northwest Indiana, maybe 45 minutes outside of Chicago, and then moved to the city for school."

"One of the other members of the team I'm on, Derek Morgan, is from Chicago. I've only been there on a case, seemed like a pretty tough town." Spencer said, a bit more calmly, now that the rain was slowing down and the sun was coming out.

"A lot of people are from there, actually. Though, the population has been on the decline recently. I wouldn't really call it a tough town. Parts of it are, but that's like any major city. Not where I lived and worked or went to school. I lived in the Wicker Park neighborhood. Some streets were sketchy but where I was… it was a hipster haven. Add a bit of arrogance & it looks like you'd pretty much fit in. Don't take that as a bad thing, it looks good on you." Her eyes kept shifting back and forth from the road and him. His right leg was a bit shaky under his chords, his chocolate heavy cardigan covered his white & brown button-up shirt. Occasionally, he tugged or fixed his brown on brown striped tie.

Spencer half smirked as he ran his fingers through his hair, and scratched the back of his neck. As they got the FBI offices, Spencer told her which entrance to use. At the gate he had to flash his badge to the guard. The sun was shining now, but there was still a light rain so Amanda pulled as close to the door as she could. After she came to a complete stop, they turned to each other and smiled. "Thanks for the ride. It would have taken too long to get back to my place and drive out here."

"Hey, it's no problem. Do you need a ride back?"

"I should be okay. I'll get a ride from someone on the team, if I'm even going home tonight. I may have to go out on a case. It was really nice meeting you. Though, I could have gone without the circumstances."

"It was nice to meet you, too, Spencer." Amanda smiled as she looked to her dog, who was sitting pretty on the back seat. "Wasn't it Reed?" she asked her pup, in baby talk. Spencer reached back to pat the top of his head. He quickly smiled again at Amanda before looking to his feet and exiting the car. When he closed the door he looked through the window and waved.

A man's voice came from behind the car, there was a laugh in his voice underlying what he was saying, "Reid! Hey man, looks like you took a shower with your clothes on. What, you had a hard time figuring out the riddle of the sphinx and forgot to undress or something?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

As Spencer looked over to see Morgan, Amanda drove off. Spencer watched as she drove a good distance away. He turned to a beaming Morgan, as he put his messenger bag over his body and crossed his arms, "Man." He then proceeded to walk into the building.

Morgan followed, "Wait, what?"

"The sphinx's riddle was "What is that which has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?" Oedipus figured out that the answer was 'man.' Man crawls, then walks upright, and then walks with use of a cane. It's actually an interesting story…" Reid began as they went through security.

Morgan cut him off, "Dude that is not the story I want to hear. I want to know who that honey was in the car that looked like it's from the show 'Happy Days.'"

"Oh, her? Her name's Amanda. Amanda… I think it's Carlton, maybe. I just met her today, actually. Her dog kind of attacked me at the park. Well, it jumped on me, really. We started talking, mostly about literature. She has really good taste in books. Oh, and she told me it was a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air in Tropical Turquois. Did you know, the 57 Bel Air is actually among the most recognizable American cars of all time?" Reid said as they got into the elevator. Derek stared at Reid, with a Cheshire sized grin, the entire ride. "What? Quit looking at me like that." Reid stood up a little taller, wide-eyed, and was ever so slightly blushing.

Morgan winked at Reid as the doors opened on their floor. JJ was getting a cup of coffee and Garcia was reading her horoscope. "Oh, you'll guys will never believe this." Morgan said, grabbing a mug. JJ & Garcia looked at him with curiosity.

"What? No!" Reid exclaimed, utterly shocked and embarrassed. A smile formed on the girls' faces, waiting to hear what happened.

"So, I'm walking up to the building," Derek poured himself coffee as he continued, " and my man Reid here was getting outta some honeys' car with the biggest grin I've ever seen on that mug." JJ stared at Reid, her mouth opened wide. Garcia let out an 'oohhh.'

Reid was speechless, rooted to the spot he stood. He couldn't believe Morgan just ratted him out. Lucky for him, Rossi & Hotch called them in, ready to get started on the next case. He walked as quickly as he could to the briefing, avoiding eye contact as much as he could.

While they were on location working on the case the team, minus Hotch, teased Reid about his 'new girlfriend.' They eventually goaded him into telling them everything. He just wanted them off of his back.

Unbeknownst to Reid, and thanks to Derek, Garcia had worked her tech magic during the downtime she had that wasn't spent with Kevin. When they got back from the case the next week, she came over to their desks, clutching a folder with a smile on her face. "So, Reid, are you going to call your lovely neighbor lady friend?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't… what are you talking about?" Reid looked at everyone confused, looking to see if they had any idea. Morgan sat on the corner of Reid's desk, waiting for Garcia to finish.

Garcia read the paper in the folder. "Looks like there was a one Amanda Maja Karlsson, very Swedish name, DOB 2-9-1982 – which, by the way, is Mia Farrow's birthday and Aquarius is a perfect astrological love match for you, that makes her exactly 4 months to the day younger than you. Anyway, just this last month she moved into a certain doctor we all know and love's apartment building." Morgan nudged Reid playfully, smirking.

"How? Why?" Reid said confused as he took the file.

"I might have looked into someone's DMV records. There aren't that many female classic car enthusiasts like moi running around Virginia. What? I'm not gonna let some strange new person travel and have coffee with my family and not find out who they are. So, are you going to call her or do an impromptu visit at her home or place of business?"

"I don't think so, Garcia. We only met the one time and that was it."

"What is that in your voice?"

"What's what in my voice?"

"Oh my God, you think she's pretty!"

"What? I never said that!"

"Oh, you totally do! I think you should go for it."

"I don't. Even if I did, who's to say she'd remember me or want to see me?" He tossed the file into a drawer in his desk and sat down to do paperwork.

"Aw. Of course she remembers you. How could she not with that face & that big brain of yours." JJ smiled. Morgan messed his hair, chuckling as he went to his desk. Reid looked at him with a furrowed brow before starting to do the cases' paperwork.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Garcia drove Reid home that night. He had wanted JJ to, but it was out of her way and she had to go home to Will & Henry. Things felt like old times between them on the car ride home, like they did before everyone started getting on his back about Amanda. He was actually starting to resent her over this and they hadn't spoken since they met.

The fun atmosphere changed when they pulled up to Reid's apartment complex. Reid's whole demeanor changed. The awkward, rambling Reid that she loved was gone and replaced with an even more skittish, quieter Reid… like the Reid she met when she first joined the BAU. She touched his arm. "Are you okay?" she asked, quite concerned.

He shifted in his seat towards her, "Oh, yeah. I was just wondering how I never noticed that she lived here before."

"It could be that you've just never bumped into each other, maybe it just wasn't time to meet. Look at me and Kevin, we work in the same building he was just 3 floors down from us & it took me getting shot for us to meet. Sometimes it just happens that way. Who knows, unless you do something about it, you guys may never see each other again. Yes, we all want you to see where this goes, but we're not going to force you. We just want to see you happy." Reid smiled out of the corner of his mouth. "Take this with you," she said opening the glove compartment. She handed him a troll doll from the early 90s, with green hair and a jeweled belly.

Reid looked at it questioningly, "Uh, thanks, I think."

"Rub its belly and blow through his hair. It'll bring you luck."

Reed was still looking at it oddly, nodding to Garcia, as he opened the door.

Garcia held the bottom of his chin, "Go be safe, my pet," she smiled. When he was about to close the door behind him she yelled out, "And have fun!" He raised his hand in acknowledgement. He put the doll in his bag as he walked to the door.

As he got closer to the front door, he became even more unsure whether or not he wanted to see her. Part of him just wanted everybody to stop talking about her. Part of him wanted to talk about her forever. He didn't know why he felt either way. Did he want them to stop talking because he wanted her to himself, or because he wanted to get over her quicker? Did he want to talk about her because they wouldn't leave well enough alone, or did he couldn't get enough?

When he got to the lobby, he decided that either way it would be best if he found out which apartment she was in. He never did look at the file Garcia made. He scanned each metal mailbox until he found her last name. He found she lived on the floor below him. He took his mail and ran upstairs to his books and a nice hot shower.

After his shower, Reid sat on the floor in front of one of his bookcases, still damp, in his underwear. He stared at the books until they became blocks of color. These were some of his paperbacks, so there were many colors. He readjusted his eyes, and grabbed a book with light pink binding. He went to sit down on his bed after grabbing a cup of coffee. He stared at the cover for a while, and then he began to flip through the pages. He wasn't reading, just flipping. His eyes kept seeing the names of authors and mythology figures. The pages stopped turning once he got to page 72, on the 4th time he flipped through the book. He kept reading one line over and over: "Now her eyes meet mine like green lightning-they are green, these eyes of hers, whose power is so indescribable-green, but as are precious stones, or deep unfathomable mountain lakes." He read this over, thinking of Amanda's green eyes, until he fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

After Amanda had dropped Spencer off at work, she went back to Fredericksburg. By the time she got back, the storm was over. She entered her salon and took the leash off of Reed, who shook off the water and ran to his little bed placed in a free corner. Amanda went over to an empty station in the back and dried her hair properly. She grabbed a cup of coffee from the waiting area and went behind the reception desk to see what time her first client was going to be there the next day. Once she got her schedule, she noticed Reed was already asleep. She went around greeting all the clients. A few hours later she went into the back office to do paperwork. When she was done, she took some walk-ins. The salon closed at 8pm, but Amanda stayed until 10pm.

She was exhausted by the time she and Reed had gotten to their apartment. She hadn't had the time to even think about the events of earlier that day. She set her keys on the coffee table and refreshed Reed's water dish. She sat down on the couch and took her heels off before turning on the TV. It was a small but nice set, without cable. She wasn't home enough to need all those channels. She watched most of the PBS documentary show 'Nature,' which was featuring polar bears on this particular episode, before falling asleep on the couch.

The next morning, Amanda and Reed went back to the salon. She always gave 150% of herself at work, and Reed always helped out by greeting clients and bringing smiles on faces. The stylists liked Amanda; she was a friend but a boss. She could be there for them and let loose when need be but she wasn't about to let them slack off either. Sometimes they compared her to Tabatha Coffey, just brunette, straight, and in need of a date. She was a hard worker and running the salon is taxing, and they understood that, but she hadn't had a date since she moved to Fredericksburg a few years ago. When they brought this up again, she casually mentioned that there was only one person in the area that she would have considered, but that was a missed opportunity. Other than that, most of the men she came across tended to not be her type; she was not about to try looking on the internet, either. They begged her for the details of her 'Mystery Man.' She didn't like bringing her personal life into her professional life, but since they promised to drop it she obliged.

Once finished, one stylist said, "He sounds boring."

Another piped in, "You don't date so… If he's gay, or even if he's not and you just don't want him, can I have him?"

"He works for the FBI at Quantico; chances are if we ever see each other again, it won't be under the best circumstances." Amanda said, heating up the dryer for a blow-out, ignoring her employee.

"If he had asked you out, though, would you have said yes?" the stylist at the station next to her asked.

Amanda looked at her like she was crazy before answering, "I have Reed. He's all the man I want or need right now. Don't you have to clean your station for your next client?" With that the subject was dropped.

She might have said more if they were not at work, on the salon floor. They were her friends, but she was the also the boss. It was not professional to talk like that in front of the clients. There wasn't that much to talk about, anyway. She had coffee with a smart, cute man that seemed like the type of guy she was always searching for. He was also everything that her ex wasn't. Maybe there was something to talk about, but this wasn't the time or place, especially knowing that they'd be swarming her with questions and comments if she did. She also didn't want to get hopes up, hers or anyone else's. She didn't know if she'd ever see him again, and if she did, what would happen. She wanted to let it lie, take things as they came, and be in the moment if and/or when it happened.

During lunch, Amanda finished reading 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' and decided to read 'Venus in Furs' again. She hated re-reading books when she had new ones at home, but her conversation with Spencer made her want to read it again. This time she skipped past the letters and bookmarked the beginning of the story, as she needed to let Reed out.

Later that night, she grabbed a quick dinner before reading in bed. She read until midnight, knowing though she didn't have an appointment until 1 o'clock, she had to be there at 7am to open. Reed was curled up asleep next to her. She thought about love, loss, her loved ones she left behind in the Midwest, and the new people in her life who were becoming her loved ones. It had taken her 2 nights to finish.

Amanda hadn't gotten much reading done the rest of the week. There was just too much work to be done. One of her stylists was leaving for New York, where her husbands' job had transferred him. Over the weekend, there was a small farewell gathering for them at a wine bar, then to a bar for a 90s dance party. She didn't want to talk about Spencer here, either. This was a party for her friend and employee and she was determined to relax and have a good time.

By mid-week, she was exhausted so she took a long lunch. After she ate, she got a coffee and sat with Reed, in the park. It was only a matter of time before the weather wouldn't permit this.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

By now, most of the leaves have changed and fallen off the trees. Amanda sat on a bench to finish her coffee, reading 'True Crime' by Martin Fido. It was composed of news articles from 1800 to 2005; occasionally there was a two page spread on the infamous and notorious. She had her headphones on and was humming to Shawn Colvin's 1996 hit 'Sunny Came Home.' She felt a jerk on the leash. When she looked up, Reed was barking and trying to run to Spencer who was walking over to them. Amanda lightly tugged on the leash that was attached to his harness, trying to get him to be quiet.

When Spencer saw that she noticed him, he ran his hand nervously though his hair. "Spencer… fancy seeing you here."

"Yeah, well, I, uh… I was supposed to meet a friend here for chess but I was almost here when he called to cancel. So, I decided to do some reading. Looks like you're doing the same," he said pointing to her book. He wasn't lying, his friend did, in fact, cancel their chess game so he had decided to read, but when he saw Amanda he thought he'd say hello first.

"Just a little light reading while I finish my coffee, before I take Reed for a walk around the park. Then I have to head back to work."

"Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"No, go right ahead. I won't be here too much longer anyway." She scooted down to the edge of the bench to make room. "The FBI keeping you busy?" she smiled.

He lifted his eyebrows and responded with a smirk, "Yeah, they do have a propensity to do that."

"I don't doubt that," she lightly chuckled. She slammed back the last of her coffee and tossed the cup in the garbage can. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Spencer. Maybe one day we can do so on purpose." She smiled as she put her purse on her shoulder, getting ready to walk Reed.

Spencer tapped the cover of his book, not looking at her. "That would be nice." She started to walk away when he asked, "Have you ever read Chekhov?"

She stopped, turned, took her headphones off, and looked at him. "Excuse me?"

He looked up at her, "Anton Chekhov. Have you ever read his works? He was a Russian writer from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Considered to be one of the greatest short-story writers in the history of world literature. He was also a playwright, and a physician. I think you'd like some of his stories." As Spencer spoke, he thought about a particular short-story he enjoyed.

"Can't say that I've had the pleasure," she chortled.

He got up and put his book away, starting to walk towards her. As they walked through the park, side by side, Spencer talked about Chekhov's style of writing, his legacy and influence. He was watching the ground as he spoke, with his hands in his pockets, only occasionally glancing up at her to see if she was paying attention. Most people would eventually cut him off, telling him to stop. Amanda listened though. She could listen to him talk all day if she could. There was something intrinsically sexy about it, about him. Spencer talked for the whole walk and back to her car. He was most comfortable talking about things of this nature, and statistics. However, in this instance there was a tinge of nervousness in the pit of his stomach.

She didn't look at him as she unlocked the door. She opened the back for Reed to jump in. She closed the door behind him, turned to Spencer and smiled. "I guess I'll have to keep an eye out next time I get a chance to go to the bookstore. Thanks for the recommendation."

"You can borrow my copy." Spencer blurted out, a bit excitedly.

"That would be nice. I really have to go back to work, though."

"Oh, right. Here." He took the keys from her, unlocked her door and opened it for her. She softly smiled and thanked him for his act of chivalry as he handed her keys back. "Can I, uh, get your number or something so I give you the book?"

"Yeah, just a second," she said, going through her purse. She wrote her cell phone number on the back of her business card and handed it to him. "I'm usually working from 7am to sometime between 9 and 10 at night, but I get some down time sporadically."

"Yeah, both of our schedules are usually up in the air. If I can't get a hold of you I'll either leave a message or just try again later when I'm not working on a case," he said nervously playing with the card.

She smiled through a laugh, "Those are usually the best options." After a pause she continued, "I'll talk to you then."

"Oh, right then. Bye." He lifted his hand to say goodbye and closed the door.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Spencer smiled to himself as the walked back to his car. As he got in, he checked his phone to see what time it was. He had missed a text from JJ about 5 minutes prior, telling him they had a case. He got to Quantico as quickly as he could.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, taking his bag from around his body.

"I hope she was worth it." Morgan joked, until he saw the look on Reid's face. Reid rubbed the back of his neck and quickly walked away. "All right, Reid!" he exclaimed, following Reid in to hear the case.

It took four days from their arrival for the police to apprehend their suspect. On the flight back from Oregon, Morgan and Reid were playing cards, Hotch was doing paperwork on the other side of the jet, and everyone else was asleep. "Come on man, tell me about her. Who was it that made you late for the briefing? Was it that Amanda chick?"

"I don't see why you want to know. There really isn't anything to talk about."

"Come on Reid. You're never late. There's got to be something there."

"We were walking around the park with her dog, talking about Anton Chekhov. Okay?"

"So it was her, and you talked about Chekhov? Really? That's it? Man, I know you're leaving something out."

"Seriously, you're going to profile me now?"

"Hey, I just want to know about my friend's girl."

"She's not my girl."

"You like her though. You can't deny that to me, Reid."

"Honestly, I don't know. I really don't know that much about her. I've told you guys everything I know already. Last I saw of her I did most of the talking since she hasn't read Chekhov. I told her I'd lend her my copy, but I haven't called her yet."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're telling me she let you just keep on talking and then she still gave you her number? I think this chick likes you. And for you to lend someone a book? You got it bad. Seriously, you should ask her out on a real date."

"As opposed to a fake date?"

"As opposed to hoping to God that you'll ever see her again. You don't, someone else might take the chance. Now, tell me, do you want that?"

"Gin." Reid smiled, laying his cards down.

Morgan slapped his cards on the table. "That's it, I'm done. I'm never playing you again."

"You say that every time," Reid said yawning, before getting up and going over to the couch. "I think I'm going to take a nap for the rest of the flight. Should be a good hours nap." Morgan closed his eyes as he shook his head and sighed.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks so much to mindspsychoaddict and Sue1313. Since Ch. 3, you've been the only ones giving me feedback. I hope you continue to do so throughout the story (as I write this I am working on tweaking Ch. 18 and starting Ch. 19) and that you inspire more to read and review. I'll continue to post one to two chapters a day, unless I am out of town… it's a suspense thing.**

**Chapter 9**

Spencer got back to his apartment at 7pm. He knew Amanda was still at work. Her business card said the salon closed at 8. He started to look for one of his Chekhov books with the short-story, 'About Love.' This particular story came to his mind when he thought about her. While the story itself didn't follow whatever type of relationship they had developed, the themes and general overview were comparable.

He had 2 copies, one being a first edition, first printing, hardcover, leather bound, and accented in 22kt gold copy. It was rare and part of a set his mother had, so he wasn't about to part with that. The only other Chekhov he had which contained this particular story was a paperback entitled 'The Essential Tales of Chekhov.' He placed this copy in his bag and went to take a shower.

He didn't know if he'd see her that night, but he wanted to be ready just in case. He put on a pair of slacks and a blue button down shirt because studies had shown that women are attracted to men in blue. He wrote on a monogramed slip of paper which he slipped into the book at page 276. He grabbed a cup of coffee started a crossword puzzle. After every few answers he filled in, he looked out of the window to see if her car was there.

Shortly after 8:30, he finally worked up the nerve to call. Part of him hoped that he would get her voicemail. After three rings, she picked up. "Hello?"

Spencer sat up straight. "H-Hi. It's, uh, it's Spencer Reid."

"Oh, hi, Spencer. I wasn't expecting to hear from you."

"Really? I said I was going to call about that Chekhov book."

"I know. I just didn't expect it. I was finishing up here for the night and take Reed out for the last time. I'm quite exhausted and, to be quiet frank, in need of a shower. Can you just meet me at my place? Just give me… an hour."

"Uh… um…. Yeah. I, uh, I guess I can do that."

Amanda gave him her address and they said their goodbyes. Spencer had an hour to kill and his nerves were getting the worse with each passing minute. He decided to go out and get some fresh air. He stopped at the local café, had some coffee, and read all of that day's papers. After a half hour, he ordered two drinks to go.

When he came back, he noticed her car was there. His hands were full and had no place to set the coffees, so he hit her buzzer with his elbow. While waiting, he recited these statics in order to try to himself to calm down: 98% of Americans have experienced unrequited love. Over 2% of all heart attacks have been directly attributed to having a broken heart. Studies show that before a man even speaks a word, the way he stands counts for over 80% of woman's first impression. Research shows that men know that they are falling in love after just three dates, but women, on the other hand, don't fall in love until date fourteen. Over 50% of all singles in America have not had a date in more than two years.

Amanda's voice came over the speaker, "Who is it?"

"Hi, Amanda. It's Spencer."

"Oh, uh, hey. Come on up, Spencer." She buzzed him in.

He climbed the three flights of stairs two at a time, being careful not to spill the drinks. He rapped a tune on her door with his knuckles.

"Two bits!" she called out from the other side, finishing his tune. "Just a second." He looked around the hall until she opened the door. She came to the door wearing a long pink bathrobe with a cord trim from shoulder to shoulder, her hair was wrapped in a towel and Reed was squirming under her arm. She smiled, "Come on in."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"I brought you some coffee. I remembered you said you drank a lot, so I assumed you drank it until you went to bed. It's what you ordered when we met." He handed her a large coffee.

"Oh, thank you. I was actually about to put a pot on. Hang your coat up and stay a while."

Spencer hung his coat up in the small foyer, set his bag on the floor below it and followed her into the living room. "You're Swedish, right? Your last name, Karlsson, is a Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning "son of Karl." It's actually one of the most common last names in Sweden."

"Yeah, I am. By the by, last time I checked, it was the third most common last name in Sweden."

"Did you know Sweden is one of the heaviest coffee drinking countries in the world, only behind Finland? On average, each Swede drinks about five cups of coffee a day."

"Oh, trust me, I know. I come from a long line of coffee drinkers. Any given day, I can go through about 3 or 4 12-cup carafes. And you're right, I do drink it until I go to bed. Habit I picked up from my mother who in turn got it from her grandparents. Have a seat. I'm just going to put some clothes on." She set Reed down, pointed in the direction of the seating and went to her bedroom.

Spencer tapped on his cup and sat down on the three-seat English Art Deco Leather Chesterfield sofa, next to her Queen Anne Wing Chair Antique Oxblood RedQueen Anne Wing Chair Antique Oxblood RedQueen Anne Wing Chair Antique Oxblood Red Queen Anne Wing Chair Antique Oxblood Red Queen Anne Wing antique chair, both in Oxblood Red. His eyes wandered around the room. It was fairly modest. Across from him sat a small TV and a stereo that played cassettes, CDs, and records. To his left was the dining room, which held a bistro table with enough seating for two. Behind that was a bookshelf that took up the entire wall, filled with all types of media.

Reed jumped up on the couch. He put his paw on Spencer's thigh, trying to get his attention. Spencer cautiously petted him.

During this, Amanda had gone to her room. Once she had closed the door behind her, she leaned her back against it and sighed. "Why does he have to do that thing with his mouth when he talks?" she mumbled to herself before taking a big gulp of coffee.

She couldn't remember the last time she was this panicked. She knew she had liked him from the moment they had begun talking, but now he was sitting in her home.

She ran to her dresser and threw a bejeweled claw in her hair. She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. As quickly as she could, she did her makeup to give her that natural without the flaws look. She stared at closet, not knowing what to wear. She riffled through every one of her drawers and had gone over every piece in her closet. After all of that, she gave up and put on her pajamas, a black tank top and red satin shorts.

She looked at herself one more time and took a deep breath heading back out. "Sorry that took as long as it did."

"Quite alright. I was just getting acquainted with your dog." Reed had curled up on Spencer's lap and fallen asleep.

Amanda chuckled, "I guess he likes you."

"I would hope so because if he did this and hated me, I'd hate to see what he'd do if he loved me."

"I see your point." Amanda smiled as she sat in the chair, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Spencer looked at her and coyly smirked before taking a large gulp of his coffee. "You have a nice place, here."

"Thanks. It's not quite finished. I haven't decided where I want my artwork or which ones to put up. I think I may have too many. I still have tons of art and books at my mother's house. So how's work, modern day John Douglas?"

Spencer looked at her confused. He was surprised and elated she knew so much of what he does, but confused. "You know who that is?"

"I told you I wanted to go into criminal psychology. I think everybody who even thinks they maybe want to go into that field should read "Mind Hunter," and every true crime book they can get their hands on. Even if they don't want to join they should, it's a really good book. I have a signed copy somewhere over on the book shelf. I've just hadn't had the time or energy to organize all of that."

Spencer carefully put Reed next to him, trying to not wake the dog, and went over to the selves to look through them. She had just tossed the books on the shelf, so there was no rhyme or reason, facing every which way. Along the classics, she had some strange books. On one shelf alone she had: "Lenin's Embalmers," "Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden," "The Bell Jar," "Liberace: Your Personal Fashion Consultant," "Eugene Onegin," "Party Monster," "The Penal Colony," two copies of "Breakfast of Champions," "The History of Murder," "The Canterbury Tales," "Madame Bovary," and "Movie Stars in Bathtubs."

"Eclectic mix you have here. I could, maybe, help one day, if you'd like." Spencer said, not taking his eyes off the books.

Amanda got off the chair and pulled the espresso colored afghan off of the back of the couch. "That would be great. It would take way too many hours to do that by myself." She sat back down and put the blanket over her."

"Oh, are you getting tired? We could just continue this on another day."

"No. It's just a comfort thing. Sit down and finish your coffee. Unless, of course, if you're getting tired. It's up to you." Reed woke up and stretched.

Spencer came back to the couch and sat down. Reed climbed over his lap and onto the arm of the chair, before jumping down and running off. "I think he may be over you." Amanda laughed.

"I guess so." Spencer looked back towards the small hallway where Reed ran.

When he was turning back, their eyes met. He quickly turned his gaze to the balcony. "Nice view. Not as good as mine, but nice."

Amanda sighed, "Show off." Reed came running back with his plush iPhone. As he tried to stop, his paws started to slip and he fell down, dropping his toy in the process. He picked up his toy and brought it over to Spencer, dropping it at his feet. He looked at Spencer, lifting his semi-prick ears as much as he could, and pawed at his shin. Amanda sat there, grinning and drinking her coffee, as she watched them interact. Spencer looked down at Reed, confused. "I think he likes you again and wants to play."

"Is that what this means?" Spencer said picking up the toy.

"Throw it."

Spencer tossed the toy and Reed chased it. He half smiled, watching the dog. He noticed a box on the side table and instantly recognized it. "Why do you have a Star Trek communicator?"

"I happen to like Star Trek. I like the Next Generation better, but I do like the original. It was a gift. Is there a problem with that?"

"Not at all. In fact, I happen to like pretty much all of the Star Trek franchise."

They continued to talk about Stark Trek, horror and psychological thrillers, their work, and psychology. Again, Amanda could keep up her end of the conversation foe the most part. After 1994 she had given up on Star Trek so anything that had come out after that was beyond her. About halfway through their conversation, they went into the kitchen and put on more coffee. She handed him a mug with the caffeine molecule on the side, hers had Rosie the Riveter. She brought out the sugar and creamer so he could put in as much or as little as he'd like. She watched him pour quite a bit of sugar into his mug. She smiled, shook her head and continued the conversation where they had left off. Reed was already asleep in Amanda's room.

By the end of the night, their chat had become more personal. They learned that both of their fathers had taken off, though, Amanda's did so before she was born and she wasn't bitter about it at all. Her grandfather on her mother's side had died when her mother was a teenager and they were from the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. So Amanda, trying to fill the void and discover her heritage, filled her life with things she knew he loved. She developed an affinity for the food, the Christmas celebrations, little décor pieces (like Dala horses and Tomtes), and her grandfather's favorite show, M*A*S*H.

Reid spoke of his childhood, his time at Cal Tech and the academy, how his work affected him in both the positive and negative, his hobbies during the rare few hours he has off, Gideon, and his mother. He told her that his mother was a former professor who read to him every night. He talked of what kind of woman and mother she was. He told her that he writes to her every night. He, however, left out the details of her illness and where she is now.

They were finally getting comfortable with each other, Spencer's nervous ticks were few and far between, but there was still a small knot in both of their chests they couldn't place. By 11pm, Amanda was walking Spencer to the door. Before he grabbed his coat, he opened his messenger bag. He handed her the book. He almost told her to read the note he had placed there, but decided not to.

She smiled at him, "Thanks. I'll start tomorrow. I don't know when I'll have time to read so I can't estimate when I'll be able to return it."

"Don't worry about it. Take all the time you need. You have my number now, so call me when you're done or if you need clearing up on anything," he said as he put his coat on.

"I can do that."

Spencer stepped forward to say goodbye. He didn't know whether to kiss, hug, or even give her a handshake goodbye. He ended up lifting his arm in a half wave before rubbing the back of his neck and letting himself out.

Amanda locked the door behind Spencer. She caressed the binding. She started reading the back cover on her way to the bedroom. She had read the first paragraphwhen she looked up and noticed Reed was snoring from the absolute middle of the bed. She was too tired to move him, so she set the book on her nightstand with her glasses on top of it, and tried climbing into bed without waking Reed. This was to no avail. He woke up, walked over to the pillow next to her, and licked her cheek. She pulled him down to her chest, and stroked his back until they were both asleep.

Spencer walked down the hall toward the stairs. He figured, if she read a story a day, including the introduction, she'd get to "About Love," and subsequently, his note, in a week and a half. That is, unless she found it or it slipped out in the meantime. He hoped she didn't find it until then; it would give him time to collect his thoughts.

He opened the door to his dark, quiet apartment. He took a deep breath as he hung up his coat and bag. He rubbed his forehead as he walked through his apartment, to his bedroom, without turning on the lights. He walked into a chair and winced. He made it the rest of his way without incident. Still under the cover of darkness, he undressed down to his boxers. He crawled into bed and scooted over to the middle, and began his letter to his mother. When he was finished, he set it on the nightstand to be sent out in the morning. He then curled up into the fetal position. His lips formed a soft smile as he drifted off to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Several days had gone by and they hadn't talked to each other let alone seen each other. Work had kept them both busy. Spencer sat at his desk, doing paperwork, when JJ came up to his desk. "Spence, we're all going out for dinner. Come on, you need a break."

"I'd really like to finish this."

"You can finish it later. Right now, you're going to have dinner. You've been acting stranger than usual so you need to get out and have some fun. I, on the other hand, am starved so get a move on."

They went to an Italian restaurant, upon Rossi's request. An old friend of his had recently opened the restaurant and he hadn't had the time to see it yet. Rossi wanted to surprise his friend so they didn't make reservations.

The place was packed, but they got a table near the bar. It was the best they could get at the time, or wait an hour. As it was so packed, it took a few minutes for their waitress to take their drink orders. After Reid ordered, he looked up at the waitress. When he was turning his gaze back down something caught his eye.

He licked his lips as he stared off into space in the direction of whatever it was he saw. Rossi looked around, wondering what Reid saw. "What is it, Reid? You've never seen a fireplace before?"

"I'm not looking at the fireplace but what's in front of it." Having a trained eye and being his friends, they noticed his breathing pattern change ever so slightly. Everyone stopped to look at what he was staring at.

"That's her, isn't it?" Morgan smiled.

At the table in front of the fireplace, a woman sat alone, crocheting. Her hair was pulled back into a classy low ponytail, her makeup was minimally done, and she wore a solid black dress. It was, indeed, Amanda.

Reid nodded, not taking his eyes off of her. "Well, go talk to her. Don't just sit there gawking at the girl, say hello."

He started to get up when a man walked by, and to Amanda's table. Reid promptly sat back down to watch the interaction. Amanda put away her crocheting and got up to greet him with a kiss on the cheek. They were intently talking, when the waitress came to the teams table with their drinks, asking if they were ready to order.

After he ordered, Reid couldn't look anymore, so he just stared at the table. "Oh, Reid, I'm so sorry." JJ said.

"Don't worry about it, JJ." Reid said, clearly disappointed.

"You really liked her, didn't you?" Rossi asked.

"I guess more than I had originally thought. We're just friends, though. It was bound to happen that she'd meet someone."

"I don't think this was a date." Morgan said. He hadn't stopped watching the two at the other table. "I don't know about any of you guys but when I go out on a date it usually lasts longer than one drink and doesn't include some sort of professional portfolio of some kind."

The team looked over and saw the man was leaving with a professional art portfolio with the word 'Photography' etched into the front. The waitress took both of their glasses and refilled Amanda's. She took her crochet out again.

"If that was a date, it was the most pathetic one in history." Garcia added.

"I don't like to get into the teams personal life, but I think you should go up there and talk to her." Hotch said. Everyone agreed, and basically forced him to go.

Reid mustered up the nerve and went up to her. He barely got out a "Hello."

Amanda looked up from her crocheting. "Hey, Spencer. We really need to stop meeting like this. Would you like to join me? My business drink is over but I was going to stay for dinner."

"Actually, I'm here with the team." He pointed in their direction. Amanda looked over to them. They all smiled and waved. She reciprocated this, with a small chuckle. Amanda had turned back to Reid but he was still looking at the team. Garcia pointed to them, then to the table, signaling to him that she wanted him to bring Amanda over. "Would you like to meet them?" he blurted out. She was startled and confused for a moment, but said that she would love to.

His unconscious chivalry took over, and he led her to the table by the small of her back. "Everyone, this is Amanda Karlsson." Spencer said, not quite sure of how else to introduce her… as the woman he met in the park, as his friends, or what.

Morgan reached out his hand, "Hey there, I'm Derek Morgan."

Amanda accepted his hand, "Very nice to meet you." She shook everybody's hand as they introduced themselves.

After all the introductions were done, Rossi spoke up, "Why don't you join us. Pretty girl like you shouldn't have to have dinner alone."

Hotch spoke softly out of the corner of his mouth, "Dave, let the boy do this on his own."

Rossi turned his head to Hotch and whispered back, "Don't worry about it Aaron." He turned back to Amanda, "Please, it's nice to know Reid has friends outside of the BAU, especially one so beautiful. Have dinner with us, my treat. Morgan, move down so she can sit next to Reid."

As Morgan moved to the empty seat so she could sit next to Reid, she smiled, "I'd love to. It'd be an honor. Let me just get my things."

"Oh, I like those shoes." Garcia, who was sitting next to where Amanda stood, cooed at the pink mesh and snakeskin booties.

"Thank you. They were a gift from my childhood friend. They're Jimmy Choo, I believe they're called Magnum."

"Now I know what to tell Kevin to get me for Christmas." Garcia smiled, nodding her head.

"I'll be right back."

As she walked away, Reid sat down and JJ leaned in, "I like her Spencer. She seems sweet." He half-smiled and took a sip of water. When she came back, Hotch pulled her chair out for her. She thanked him as she sat down, putting her things under her seat. Rossi had gone to find the waitress, to tell her of the move.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"So, Amanda, tell us about yourself." Rossi said sitting back down.

"Making a profile of me so soon, Mr. Rossi?" The younger members of the team chuckled.

"Please, call me Dave. I just want to know what type of friends Reid has here."

"Well, what do you want to know, Dave?"

Rossi slightly raised his hands, "The basics would be a good place to start: What do you do? Where are you from? Do you have any pets? A small selection of your favorite things… that sort of thing."

"Oh, so this isn't a profile?"

"Humor me."

"Alright. I'm a hairstylist and salon owner in Fredericksburg where I currently live. I was raised in Indiana and got my cosmetology license in Chicago. I have a dog named Reed after Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground, who is a first generation mix of a Boston Terrier and Pug. Some favorite things include pepparkakors, coffee, white and dark purple daisies, Briggite Bardot , Bettie Page, classic literature, and Cary Grant. On the flip side, I don't like being in snow and any kind of chocolate or rose. Snow is pretty but too cold and wet while I find chocolate and roses to be too cliché, lacking in any real thought. Sufficient?"

Rossi smiled, "I think so."

"I guess that leaves you out of the running, Dave." Hotch said, sarcastically.

"Chocolates and roses are the usual standby gifts." Rossi responded.

"I've gotta ask," Garcia started, "who was that guy you were with?"

"He was cute." JJ added. Spencer shot her a crushed and surprised look. She mouthed a 'sorry,' and quickly took a sip of water.

"He's a client of mine. He and his partner own a burlesque club in New York City that occasionally puts on a drag night. I've done hair and makeup for them for years. I met his partner at a show back in Chicago. They're finally getting married and want my salon to do the hair and makeup."

"Sounds like a fun club." Garcia commented.

"Next time I'm working one, if you guys are in town, you should come as my guests."

"I could get down seeing girls dance around in their underwear." Morgan smiled. Everyone rolled their eyes at him.

They all had a good time for the rest of dinner, seeming like old friends. Amanda fit right in with everyone. In fact, they had so much fun chatting that it was about 10pm when they left. He really didn't even talk to her during dinner. Reid had basically kept to himself, as the rest of his team talked to Amanda. Occasionally, he did throw out a statistic or two.

They said their goodbyes outside, and hugged. Reid was still too nervous to hug Amanda. He was having trouble stepping into it, so Garcia pushed him into Amanda for a big hug as she rolled her eyes at the two.

JJ got an idea. "Spencer and I were going to get some ice cream or coffee or something but I have to get home to my son." She held out a picture of Will, Henry and herself. "Why don't you go with?"

Spencer tried to stop her without Amanda seeing. He stood off to the side and behind Amanda, flailing his arms and shaking his head no. "You have a very cute family, JJ." Amanda said, before looking towards Spencer. He tried covering up what he had been doing by smiling and rubbing the back of his neck. She handed JJ back her picture, "Maybe some other time." She knew what JJ was trying to do and she knew Spencer was trying to stop her.

"Are you sure?" Spencer asked, trying to play it off.

"Don't worry about it, Spencer. I get it. You can stop by the salon at any time to pick up your Chekhov. I'll just pick up my own copy to finish." She raised an eyebrow at Spencer and turned back to the group who was watching on. "It was nice meeting you all." With that she walked to her car.

Morgan slapped Reid upside of his head.

"This is when you go after her or she'll more than likely be out of your life for good." Garcia said, looking quite stern.

"You really think I should?"

"Go!" they all yelled at him. It was too late. Amanda had already driven off.

"You, mister, have some serious butt kissing to do." Garcia said, shaking a finger at Reid.

"What? Why?"

"Why? Because she thinks you don't like her. We all know you do. Even if you want to just be able to salvage a friendship, you need to show her that you're sorry. You lost some major brownie points my friend."

"I'll think of something," Reid said, narrowing his eyes and nodding.

"You better." Garcia warned. With that, they all went their separate ways, just to meet at the office the next day.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It was too late for Spencer to really do much. He had an idea though. More like a plan that he would take into action the next morning. First order of business, though, was to get some sleep.

The next morning, Amanda and Reed were at the salon at 7am, as usual. She had a full day of clients, and had to get checks out to her employees and had bills to pay. She was working her fingers to the bone all day. She was in her office when there was a knock at the door. The receptionist came in with a vase of white and dark purple daisies, "Delivery for you Amanda." She smiled and set the vase on the desk before leaving the office.

Amanda set her pen down and sat back in her chair, staring at the flowers for a moment. There were only two people she could think of who would send her daisies, her ex and Spencer. She hadn't spoken to her ex in what seemed to be ages, and both had moved on since then, so it couldn't have been him. That only left Spencer… and quite possibly his coworkers. This was confirmed when she read the card:

'Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.'

"That son of a…" she didn't finish the sentence as Reed was pawing at her to go out. When she got to a grassy area for Reed, she called Spencer.

He was on lunch break, so he picked up fairly quickly. Amanda answered his hello with, "You know, Spencer, you're probably the only man on Earth that can quote Proust and get away with it."

"So I'm guessing you got the flowers and I'm forgiven for my actions last night?"

"I'll allow it this time. But, don't think for one second that I can always be bought with flowers and a quote from a 20th century French novelist. You've now just used up your one free pass."

"Understood." A smile was forming on his face. "Can I see you?"

"I don't know. Have you gone blind in the last 14 hours?"

"I mean, may I see you soon? Maybe… tomorrow? Actually, I don't know if I'll be in town tomorrow so how about tonight?"

Amanda laughed at his eagerness. "Okay, okay. Swing by my apartment at 10. I don't know if I'll be up for going out."

"Okay, so I'll see you then."

"Goodbye, Spence."

"Goodbye, Amanda."

Spencer went to get a cup of coffee. He was pouring sugar when Morgan came over. He saw Spencer's face light up when he was on the phone. "I see Amanda accepted your apology."

Reid stirred his coffee and smiled, "Yeah, yeah she did."

Morgan poured his coffee, "So?"

Reid shrugged. "She knows Proust." He took a sip, making sure it was to his liking, smiled at Derek and walked towards his desk.

Morgan followed him, confused. "Wait. What?"

"You know, JJ and Amanda are the only two people to call me Spence," he continued smiling.

"What does that mean?"

"The Greek philosopher Plutarch said, 'Do not speak of your happiness to one less fortunate than yourself.'"

"Did you just call me less fortunate?"

"Only in the fact that I have someone of the opposite sex in my life outside, of work and home, for more than one night, and you don't."

"You're so lucky I like you and you need this," Derek said shaking his head.

Morgan left Reid's desk for his own. They did some paperwork and gave profiles to various local police over the phone. Dinner consisted of take-out that had to be eaten at their desks. Later in the evening, Morgan put a tin of mints on Reid's desk.

"Is this your way of telling me that I have bad breath?"

"No, it's my way of saying good luck with Amanda. Hopefully, if you play your cards right, you'll be needing those tonight." He started to make kissy-faces and mocking them. Reid threw a pen at him so that he would stop.

The next time Reid checked the clock, it was nearly 9:30. He grabbed his coat with the mints in the pocket, and rushed out. At off-hours, like this, it would take 35 minutes or so to get back to Fredericksburg.

It actually took Reid longer than he had expected to get home, as there was an accident on the interstate. A couple was leaving as he was entering so they held the door for him. He bounded up the stairs, hoping that she hadn't gone to bed already.

When he knocked on the door, Reed barked and Amanda called out, "Two bits! Come on in, the door's open!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"You know, you really shouldn't leave your door unlocked, even if there's a security door. I could have been anyone."

"Are you saying that you're a nobody?" Amanda joked from the kitchen as Spencer hung up his coat.

"No. I'm just saying…"

Amanda cut him off. "I know what you were saying. I was making a joke. You really need to get out more." She came out of the kitchen wearing a black tank top with her salon's logo across the chest and a pair of tight yoga pants, holding two cups of coffee.

"I get out. I've been in every state for work."

"I think you need this more than I do," she said holding out a coffee. "Copious amounts of sugar, light on the coffee."

"Thank you," he said taking the mug. He took a sip and then asked, "Is that Pachelbel's Canon in D Major?" Finally, now, noticing the music in the background, playing from her laptop.

"Yes. Other than anything written by Lou Reed, it's probably my favorite thing to wind down to. Did you want me to change it or turn it off or something?" As they spoke they sat down; Spencer on the couch, Amanda on the chair next to him.

"No, actually I love that piece. Did you know there were only two copies published in his lifetime? Now only a single manuscript copy of it survives, in the Berlin State Library, which contains two more chamber suites. The other one was lost."

"You are a fascinating specimen, Spencer Reid." Amanda stared at him intently.

He smiled but was flustered, so he changed the subject. "How's the Chekhov book coming? Do you like it so far?" He knew she hadn't finished it. If she had she would have read the note he left and it didn't seem as she had. Maybe she had and just had not read into it. The latter was highly unlikely.

"It's coming along okay, I guess. I hadn't had much reading time. I just finished 'The Kiss.' It was a wonderful story of expectation, obsession and disappointment. Ryabovitch kind of reminded me of you a little."

"Really? How so?"

"He was a shy, naive man who felt uncomfortable in the presence of women, who wandered into the library during the party. While you're by no means naive, you are shy and from what I gathered at dinner with your team, uncomfortable at gatherings. I can see you being the type to wander away from the party and sneak off to the library."

"You would have been a good profiler." He smirked at her.

Amanda smiled at him as the song ended. She got up and went over to her laptop. She selected every album in her Velvet Underground folder. This included the entire discography of the Velvet Underground and the entire discography of Lou Reed's solo work. She hit the random button so he could get a taste of it all during his visit. She reasoned, "You may be a genius, but there is still so much for you to learn." This time, she sat next to him on the couch. When she turned to him, their knees touched, giving them both a chill and sudden heaviness in their chests that they both had to work through.

She went on to explain why they were so important. Their time with Warhol, how Lou Reed's lyrics – unlike some – can translate into beautiful poetry, the fact that they were one of those bands that while few people at the time bought the records whomever did buy it or borrowed it started a band, their influence on music, the impact Lou Reed had with his second solo album 'Transformer,' the fact that four of their albums were on Rolling Stone's 'Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.' She spoke of them like this for a good five to ten minutes, with incredible passion and knowledge. Her enthusiasm grew with each new bit of information. It was at its peak when talking about the song, 'Venus in Furs.'

Spencer sat and listened intently, wanting to soak up as much as he could. He couldn't help but occasionally be distracted. Her moxie was breath-taking; his heart was beating out of his chest. The only time she let her eyes leave his face was when she took a sip of coffee. She put her whole body into her passionate speaking. He wondered if she felt the same way when he talked like that. He wanted to say something when she finished but Reed was pawing at him, wanting to play fetch.

Amanda told him that the easiest and best way to do so in the apartment is to sit on the floor and roll it down the hall. It was a good way of tiring the endless bundle of energy that was Reed. As Spencer sat down and started to play with Reed, Amanda asked, "Why did you want to see me today?"

"I don't really know. I guess subconsciously I wanted to gauge where we stood after that dinner."

"I had every right to be mad, you know that, right? I saw you signaling to JJ. I may be near-sighted but I'm not blind. As sweet of a girl JJ is, I was going to have to say no anyway. I had work in the morning. That little spectacle you put on made it seem like you just didn't want me around you, like I was a leper or something."

"It wasn't a spectacle and it wasn't because I didn't want to be around you because I obviously do. I just didn't want them forcing something between us… more than they already were."

"First of all, it was kind of a spectacle. Secondly, yes, they were trying to force…something. I'm thinking trying to force you to be a bit open and out of the shy zone, because that would have been nice. You were a little too stoic. At least, I think so. Though, I also do think the first time we touched at all, should have been on our own accord, not Penelope's."

"Actually it was."

"What do you mean? She pushed you into a hug, that's not of your own accord."

"The first time we touched wasn't that last night. It was the day we met. You helped me up after Reed jumped on me. Then, my hand brushed yours when you handed me back my book."

"I stand corrected. Thank you, Doogie."

"Doogie? What's that?"

"You don't know 'Doogie Howser, M.D.?'"

"No. Should I?"

"In your basic proverbial nutshell, 'Doogie Howser M.D.' was a show that air from '89 to '93 about a genius 16 year old doctor who had an eidetic memory. Do you want some more coffee?"

"Um, yeah, half a cup please." She took his cup with a smile and a wink. "Thanks." He looked at her like she was strange as she walked away.

This time when Spencer threw the toy for Reed, he didn't chase it. Reed just watched it bounce into Amanda's bedroom then looked back at Spencer. He nuzzled Spencer's hand wanting to be petted. After several strokes, Reed started licking his fingers. Amanda couldn't help herself; she set down the coffees and took a picture with her phone. She said it was too cute of a photo opportunity to pass up. Reed scampered off to Amanda's room, up the small stairs at the end of the bed and curled up on top of the sheets to go to sleep.

Spencer looked at his damp hand. "The bathroom is through the bedroom, first door on the right." He walked through the bedroom where Reed was asleep directly in the middle of the fluffy white duvet atop if the sleigh bed. It was as though he was sleeping on a cloud.

Spencer quickly returned from washing his hands. Amanda was softly singing along to Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day' as she crocheted. "What is that you're making?" he asked as he sat next to her on the couch, his upper body turned to face her.

"Eventually there will be a matching pillow case and blanket." She was working on the blanket. It was dark gray with flecks of other various colors; the color resembled that of what one might see on a men's tweed sport coat. She turned to face him directly, sitting sideways Indian-style. There was barely an inch between their legs. She put the finished portion of the soft, warm blanket over his lap.

"Am I supposed to be your working station now?" She thought for a moment, smiled brightly and nodded. He felt the edge of the blanket.

She leaned closer to him and sang the chorus of Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day.' "It's most likely about heroin, but if you take the lyrics to mean about a woman instead, it's a really beautiful song."

They sat in almost silence for a few minutes. He was watching her crochet as he finished his coffee. When he had finished, he looked at his watch. "I really should be going. It's getting pretty late." She put away her yarn and hook, while he went into the kitchen to set the mug in the sink. She walked with him to the entryway.

He put on his coat and slung his bag over his shoulder. "Do you want to try this on our own accord," Amanda asked as she held out her arms for a hug, "or would rather revert back to the pathetic version of a wave?" He leaned forward to go in for the hug, but pulled back. On the second try, they wrapped their arms around each other for a close hug. They weren't close enough to feel each other's body heat, but close enough to her to note his natural musk and he the warm vanilla scent she gave off.

After the embrace she opened the door for him. "Goodnight, Spence. I'm sure I'll see you real soon."

He walked out, smiling, "Goodnight, Amanda."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Saturday morning, Reid was reading Amanda's file that Garcia had made for him. His feet were on his desk and he was leaning back. Garcia walked by him and patted him on the head. "Good boy," she smiled.

He took his feet down and followed her, still holding onto the file. "What was that about?"

"You apologized and sent her flowers... white and purple daisies, her favorite. Very cute and sweet. But thank you for reading, too. Have you gotten to page 3 yet?"

"No, I just opened it. Most of it I already knew though. Wait, how do you know I sent flowers? Are you tracking my finances?"

"No, I could easily do that though. Actually, I called her salon. She mentioned it at dinner when you were in the bathroom, though I already knew which one she owned. Anyway, I talked to her and made an appointment for tonight. Tomorrow, since she has Mondays off, she, JJ and I are going to have a girl's night on the town during which we will partake in drinking, dancing and talking about you."

"Garcia, please, don't."

"What? It's about that time where I need a touch-up and trim. I'm looking for a new stylist and she was available. She stated poking him in the sternum, "Don't you mess with me, lover boy."

"Ow."

"Sorry," she said, tugging the bottom of her shirt.

"Just… just please don't say anything embarrassing about me."

"Aw. We know you like her. Don't worry. But you can bet your scrawny little behind that there will be talking of you. All lovely things I promise; cooing, quips, that sort of thing… and quite possibly a dirty limerick or two," Garcia said as she poured her coffee and left him be.

Reid went back to his desk and skipped to page 3. In big, bold letters that took up the entire page Garcia had left a note for him which read: 'ATTN: You may not be comfortable with the next two pages which include her modeling work. Some she posed for and some she just did hair and makeup for. That, or you'd be too happy in a way I don't want to know about.'

He didn't know it but Derek was standing behind him. He had glanced over when he saw the lettering out of the corner of his eye, so he read the page, silently rubbernecking.

When Reid turned the page, there were several modeling photos of Amanda. They were tasteful burlesque and pin up style boudoir shots. She was in various stages of dress, from fully clothed to her underwear, none showing areas that would be pixelated out on television. His eyes got wide and his jaw dropped.

"Wow," Derek said slowly, elongating the word. Reid quickly closed the folder, pursed his lips and closed his eyes tightly. "Are you embarrassed?" he asked, messing Reid's hair.

"I just don't want you looking at this, okay?"

Morgan chuckled, "It's not like I haven't seen a woman in her underwear before."

"But… that… it wasn't Amanda."

"She had to sign a release for that. I can't be the only man other than you that saw those. I possibly could just search for those and easily find them." Reid looked noticeably uncomfortable. "I won't though, I know you like her and you're my friend and I wouldn't do that to you." He started to walk away. Looking back he added, "Plus, those images are now burned into my brain." Reid looked at him with an open mouth and furrowed brow. Derek chuckled. He was just about to step out of the room when he yelled out "Burned!"

After lunch, Reid came back with a large bag from the local record store. Everyone looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Went on a little shopping spree, huh?" JJ asked. Reid's eyes darted around the room.

Before he could sit down, Morgan took the bag from him and rifled through it. "What is this?" he asked, holding up the 'White Light/White Heat' CD. "Since when do you listen to rock and roll?"

Reid took the CD and the bag. "Amanda recommended it."

"She recommended 10, maybe more, CDs?"

"No. We were talking about Lou Reed, so I just went out and bought everything they had."

"Sometimes I just don't know about you kid."

Around 2pm, Garcia walked through. "Okay, my lovelies, I'm off; done for the day. Do not try to need me for a few hours as I will be unreachable due to the fact that I'll have dangerous chemicals on my head. Reid, I'll do my best to see if she likes you." She blew them all a kiss and left for the salon.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Garcia walked into Amanda's salon and checked in. The salon had a classy and modern look about it, with luxe seating and exposed ventilation. She flipped through the latest issue of 'Cosmopolitan' until Amanda called her over. They gave each other a quick hug before heading back to the shampoo stations.

As Amanda wrapped Garcia's hair in a towel, Reed ran over to them. "Oh my gosh, you are such a cutie!" Garcia cooed.

"That's my Reed."

"Reed?" Garcia raised her eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look. Your Reid is spelt with an 'e-i,' mine is spelt with an 'e-e-.' Officially it's Lou Reed Karlsson."

"Oh, right, you mentioned that before. Velvet Underground. Very cool."

"Yepper doodles. When I was a kid I had a dog named Ziggy after David Bowie. This seemed like a natural progression. The staff actually got him for me at a shelter. I think I had talked about wanting one badly for so long that they wanted to shut me up. It was only later that we found out what he was. Now, he's Momma's spoiled little baby boy. I'll be right back." Garcia chuckled as Amanda went in back to mix the color.

When Amanda came back, Reed was sitting in Garcia's lap. "He seems to love the FBI. He always wants Spencer to play with him. Last night they played fetch for maybe an hour."

"He was at your apartment last night? That little weasel. He's never told us that he's been over to your place. Ugh, scuzzball."

"Actually, it's been several times now, in fact."

Garcia's eyes got wide, "Did you guys kiss yet?" Her shocked faced morphed into an evil grin, "Did he spend the night?"

"No and no. But, speaking of men, I want to hear all about this Kevin guy."

Garcia talked about Kevin for the rest of her time at the salon. Amanda gave her gorgeous finger waves. One of Amanda's stylists, Juan, came over to them. "Oh honey, you look fierce. If I was straight, I'd try snatching you right up. You're a stunner. Heads will turn, royalty will bow down to you. With the exception of the queen, of course. I don't think that would be wise. She wouldn't be able to get up again. If your man isn't kissing at your feet tonight, something is seriously wrong with him and he needs to sashay away." He nudged Amanda and went back to his station.

"That was Juan, our house over the top drama queen. But, he's good and one of my best friends. In fact, he's my head stylist and will be going with on that wedding job I told you about." She was about to take Garcia up to the reception desk, when she asked to see the flowers Reid had sent over.

Amanda took her to her office where the vase was. Garcia let out an 'aw,' and smelled them. As she lifted her head, she saw the card. It was obviously written in Reid's handwriting. "He's such a dork, but that's part of his charm," she shook her head. "Okay, Kevin and I have a date, so I have to be going. I left your name at the gate so you can pick us up at the office, like we planned. You better have your dancing shoes on and be ready to party hearty. I will accept no excuses."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. In fact, you just may have to try to keep up with me." Amanda said as they walked back out to the front. Garcia paid for her services, leaving a big tip even though she knows that she doesn't have to tip the proprietor, booked her next appointment and bought about $100 worth of product for hair, nails, and makeup.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Sunday, at the end of the BAU work day, Amanda was sitting in her car outside of the BAU offices waiting for JJ & Penelope. She was wearing a '50s-inspired red dress. This would be the first time they saw her in color. Derek was the first out of the office and when he saw that Amanda's doors were unlocked. He could hear the bass, and he saw she was sitting with a Detroit lean, singing along. He took it upon himself to get into the passenger seat. She was too busy singing the tail end of Bruno Mars' 'Just the Way You Are' to notice him until the car slammed shut. He spooked her but she quickly recovered. After the hellos, he said, "The girls will be down in a few minutes, so I decided to keep you company until then. Ya know, you look good in color."

"Thank you. I really only wear so much black for work. Helps me fade into the background so that the client is the focus."

"Makes sense."

Her iPod was on random so Wayne Newton's 'Danke Shoen' came on next. Derek looked at her like she was crazy. He knew it was from Ferris Bueller but he didn't think it'd be on someone's iPod. She leaned towards her door, looking him up and down. She held up a finger, as to signal to 'hold one second.'

"You look like you can get down to some New Jack Swing." Amanda commented as she started playing Blackstreet's 'No Diggity.'

Derek smiled widely, and nudged her. "Girl, you're something else."

"I'm gonna pretend you meant I'm pretty awesome, so I'm going to take it as a compliment."

He chuckled, "Yeah, it is."

Reid had walked by as they were singing and dancing in the car. He looked at them confused, but kept walking to his car. He knew that she was having a girl's night with JJ & Garcia, what he didn't know was what was going on in that car and why. He really wasn't even sure he wanted to know. He pressed on, not giving it a second thought as he shook it off.

The girls finally came down, ready to hit the town. Derek got out and held the door for JJ and opened the back door for Garcia. "Thanks Derek. You're not gonna join us?" JJ joked.

Derek chuckled, "Nah, you girls have fun. Just don't have too much fun without me."

"Oh, we will my pet." Garcia smiled and nodded.

"Get outta here." Derek smiled as he closed the doors behind them. They all waved goodbye as Amanda drove off. Derek crossed his arms as he watched them drive away. "She's either just what the kid needs or too much. Oh well, at least he'll have fun and needs it," he said to himself before walking through the parking lot to his car.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The girls had decided to go out for specialty burgers. Once they sat down they ordered a carafe of unsweetened raspberry tea to share. "I really do feel as though I should apologize for the other night. I thought you and Spence could have used the alone time to get more acquainted. I had no idea he was going to respond like that in front of you."

"It's okay. I don't blame you at all and Spence and I are good now. I'd rather just forgive and forget."

"He sent her a dozen white and purple daises, her favorite." Garcia added.

"Sounds like our Spence."

"You should see her puppy, JJ. He's so cute and has free reign of the salon."

"That's cute."

"He's there now, actually. I dropped him off before picking you guys up and he's staying the night with one of my stylists. It's the first time we've been apart this long, so it's hard, but Momma needed a girl's night out."

"Ugh, I know how you feel. It's still hard to leave Henry but every once in a while, you just need to get out."

"We are all in need of a vacation." Garcia added. JJ and Amanda nodded in agreement.

"What I wouldn't give to go to the beach, put my headphones on, and relax all day with a Danielle Steele novel." JJ sighed.

"I've never really been a beach person. I burn too easy. However, I may be persuaded, depending on the person asking and why." Amanda mentioned.

"Like a certain boy genius?" Penelope insinuated with a sly grin.

"Oh, here we go," Amanda sighed. Before she could finish her thought, the waitress came over to take their orders. After their orders were taken, Amanda continued. "You know, I haven't been grilled like this since high school when I was asked if I lost it to my boyfriend."

JJ and Garcia laughed. "Sorry. We love him like a brother and think you'd make a cute couple. Between just us girls, I think he needs it. I don't think he's had a date in the almost 8 years I've known him."

Amanda almost choked on her tea with JJ's last statement. "8 years and not one date? I thought I was bad."

"How long has it been for you?"

"I had a boyfriend for a very short time when I first moved here. I've been so busy I hadn't really noticed. Now, I have Reed. He fills pretty much any void that a man could. I just realized how pathetic that sounds." All three women laughed at this.

They talked and laughed for the rest of their meal, as if they were old girlfriends. It was still too early to go to the club, so they grabbed a cup of coffee and did a little shopping. They talked about families, exes, the usual things women talk about as they shop with friends. On the drive to the club, Garcia brought the subject up again. "Seriously, you should go for it with Reid. He likes you. I'm not a profiler but it screams obvious to me."

"You really think so? I don't know. He hasn't really given me any signs. I don't need an anvil dropped on my head but I just don't see it. He's become a good friend and I don't want to ruin that. I might consider pursuing something if things were different. As it stands right now, just let it lie and take its own course."

"With Spence, I don't think you'd be getting anvils anyway. But you're right; we should just let nature take its course. That's why I didn't tell anyone about Will until it we were an official couple. Though, apparently, everyone already knew. Let's just have a drink or two, dance, and completely forget about men until we shut this place down."

"You're talking my language." Garcia said, doing the Twist in her seat.

They left when the bar closed at 2am, completely loosing track of time. On the way back to Quantico they sang along to the Wallflowers songs "One Headlight" and their cover of David Bowie's "Heroes." Amanda admitted that she had a crush on both Jakob Dylan and Bowie. It was the eyes, the minds, hearts of a poet, and their bedroom voices.

Meanwhile, Spencer's evening took the same route it had before he met Amanda. He ate dinner while reading that days papers and psychology journals. When he got home, he put away his bag and gun, and then started a kettle of tea while listening to Beethoven. He wrote a letter to his mother and put it in his bag to mail in the morning. He watched the PBS special on Victor Borge in its entirety before his shower. He was in bed by 11pm.

The next morning, after breakfast, Amanda picked up Reed and took him for a walk. When they got home, she continued reading Spencer's book. It was almost noon when she came across his letter, written on bone colored stationary with 'From the desk of Dr. Spencer Reid, PhD.' at the top. She smiled to herself as she read it. She set it on the table as she read the short-story 'About Love,' which was about lost, unrequited love and carpe diem.

As best she could put it, Alehin, the main character, was ruined by prosaic concerns and terrestrial ethics, failed to seize the day, and, so, he lost his one opportunity for a gratifying, satisfying, all-encompassing love. However, Chekhov's writing failed to give any easy generalizations about the nature of love. Alehin contemplated its essence, but set the question aside. Amanda wrote down the line: "What seems to fit one instance doesn't fit a dozen others," the lonely landowner concludes. "It's best to interpret each instance separately in my view, without trying to generalize. We must isolate each individual case, as doctors say."

The story, coupled with the note, was the anvil of a hint that Amanda was talking about. Her heart was beating out of her chest. She had decided to momentarily stop reading and call Spencer.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Garcia and JJ were pretty out of it the next day when they arrived at work. The moment they walked in they dragged themselves over to the coffeemaker. "So, how was girl's night?" Morgan asked, smiling at the half-dead women.

"Last night was fun. It's today that bites the big one." Garcia groaned. Morgan pulled them both into a hug.

"Morning," Spencer smiled as he entered. Garcia growled at him and walked back to her office.

"What's with her?"

"It was a long night. We didn't get home until this morning. We might have had a little too much fun. Is it lunch yet?" JJ answered.

Morgan held her close as they left the break room. Reid grabbed his coffee and went to his desk. The never ending pile of paperwork was staring him in his face. He set his coffee down, took off his bag and jacket, setting his phone to silent so he wouldn't be disturbed as he worked.

After lunch, JJ and Garcia were feeling much better. Garcia was back to her lovely, bubbly self. Reid checked the time to see if his lunch break was over and noticed he had missed a message from Amanda.

Her message was a reading of the note that he had left: 'Amanda - I hope you're enjoying the book. I think you'll like this next one. It's underrated, but it's quite beautiful. I read it again after we talked about Chekhov. I don't know why, or what it means, but for some reason the underlying themes in this story remind me of you. I leave you with this: I want to put myself absolutely at your mercy for good or evil without any condition, without any limit to your power. You have corrupted my imagination and inflamed my blood... Desire followed the glance, pleasure followed desire. - Spencer'

He could tell that she was smiling as she read. Her voice was soft and sweet but there was a sexy undertone to it. He gulped as his heart beat out of his chest. He didn't know how to verbalize his own feelings; the words just didn't want to present themselves, so he had quoted Sacher-Masoch's 'Venus in Furs' hoping she'd understand what he meant.

Lunch was over so he planned on calling her back when he got off of work, knowing that she had the day off. At least, that was the plan until JJ came in with a new case that would be taking them to Texas. This time, it would take the police a week to apprehend the correct suspect. On the plane ride home, he listened to the message again. He just wanted to hear her voice again.

"Amanda tried calling you while we were gone?" Morgan asked, referring to the voicemail.

"No. She left a message before we left. I haven't had the time to call her back and she hasn't tried to reach me since then, either."

"Maybe she figures you were out on a case. It's not like she doesn't know about what we do."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"So what she have to say?"

"Nothing, really. I left her a note in the Chekhov book I loaned her, at the beginning of a short-story I thought she'd like, quoting one of her favorite authors. She read it back to me."

"Now that's just weird." Morgan said. JJ was listening in, pretending to be reading a file. She lifted the file to hide her face as she smiled to herself. Reid just shrugged.

"When are you going to get it over with and ask her out?" Rossi asked. Reid froze with a furrowed brow and a fearful look in his eyes.

Morgan laughed, "That would take years, if ever. Who knows, maybe she'll ask you out."

"Don't say that. Nothing's going to happen. Will you just let it go?" Reid said. They could tell that he was nervous and possibly scared of taking things to the next level.

"Calm down, Reid. We're just teasing you. No need to get all uptight," Morgan smirked.

"I'm not uptight. I just don't want to talk about it."

"Touchy." Rossi commented.

Reid grumbled getting up for coffee. "Boys… play nice." JJ said, not looking up from the file. They sat in silence the rest of the flight home.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Spencer was in the shower when his phone rang. He jumped out, quickly drying his hands, face and hair. While wrapping the towel around his waist he looked at the Caller ID. "Hey, Amanda. Sorry I haven't gotten back to you. I got back from a case not 20 minutes ago."

She could hear him turning the shower off. "It's quite alright. When you didn't call by the next night, I assumed that you were. Anyway, I finished the book so if you want to pick it up or have me drop it off or meet somewhere, we can do that."

"Yeah. Um, are you at home?"

"Currently, yes."

"Okay, I'll be there in 15 minutes. I have shampoo in my hair so…"

"Oh, okay. I'll see you then."

"Bye."

"Bye."

He knocked on her door 14 minutes later. He was in a button down shirt, a grey cardigan and slacks. His hair was still wet. She was still in her work clothes, holding a squirming Reed. "Come on in." she said moving out of the way. He smiled at her as he walked in, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

He looked around and saw a large stack of boxes in the living room corner. "What is with those?"

"There's only one more shopping week before Christmas. The taped ones are some of my presents I'm sending out tomorrow, some are for the decorations I just put up."

"So that's why there's a straw goat."

"Uh, yeah." She looked at him like he was crazy, like he should know better, and got the book from the dining room table.

"The Julbocken, right? It goes under the tree. Swedish legend states that the bringer of Christmas gifts arrives on the Julbocken; it was originally to honor the goats that Thor used to pull his carriage. Though, you don't have a tree."

"I haven't had time to look. Did you always know about Swedish Christmas or did you do research for me?

"Why become well-versed in science and the arts if not to impress a lovely little woman?"

"Okay Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch, here you go." She handed him his book.

"You know, I still need to help you organize your books. We can do it by the Dewey Decimal System. It's not as hard as some people make it out to be," he said as he put the book in his bag.

"As long as it's easy to find and they all can fit. I don't have any more bookshelves and I hate putting them together."

"We can start now, if you'd like."

"Aren't you the little helper bee?"

"I really don't have anything else to do. I'm available and wide awake. Use me."

"Okay, okay," she said looking at Reed and set him down. "Well, Spence, it's totally up to you. I just want to get out of my work clothes and sit for a while. My legs and feet are killing me. There's coffee in the kitchen if you'd like." Amanda said, taking down her hair and walking to her bedroom.

Spencer got himself a cup of coffee and got a treat for Reed from the white ceramic jar with two black paw prints above the word 'spoiled' on the front. Reed sat and quietly waited for the treat, staring at it. Spencer squatted down and held it out for him, whispering 'gentle' repeatedly. Reed leaned forward, sniffing at it until finally taking it gingerly. He then ran into the living room and onto the couch before Spencer could even stand up.

Once Spencer got back to the dining area he took off his cardigan. When Amanda came back in her pajamas, Spencer was starting to take the books down from the top shelf and reading the title of each one. She couldn't help but watch for a moment. Reed ran up and stuck his head in the bottom shelf. He pulled out his toy iPhone and ran under the coffee table with it, laying down for a nap.

Amanda chuckled as Spencer watched on with a raised eyebrow. "The Boston Terrier in him makes him a hunter. He will take his iPhone and hide it, then go and find it a few days. Sometimes I hide it. He'll go find it when told. Sit with me for a minute. I'll feel bad if you're doing my organizing and I'm sitting on my keister." Spencer put down the stacks of books he was holding, grabbed his coffee and sat on the couch next to Amanda.

"How did you enjoy Chekhov?"

"It was really good. Everything you said and more." Reed jumped into Amanda's lap.

"Oh, I'm glad."

"Looks like you need to recommend another."

"I do?"

"You very much so do. Not until after the New Year, though. I have way too much going on until then." She got up to start organizing. "Ugh, I'm too young for my body to be this old."

"Looks perfectly fine to me."

She smiled and brushed his cheek with the outside of her index fingers. "So sweet. Thank you. That doesn't mean I don't have bad aches and pains because right now I'm feeling it."

Amanda stacked the books into categories and Spencer put them back in accordance with the Dewey Decimal System. At midnight, they took Reed out for his final short walk. Several times, they wanted to take each other's hand but couldn't work up the nerve.

When they got back, Amanda went to the boxes in the living room. She took two boxes, hidden in the back; its wrapping paper was that of ornate shelves, filled with antique books. She set them down on the books. "You never know when you're going to be out of town or for how long, so I've decided to give them to you now. You aren't allowed to open them until at least Christmas Eve."

"Thank you. I didn't know we were going to be exchanging gifts."

"It's just something I thought you'd enjoy," she smiled, handing him a book. After another hour, they were both getting tired. They agreed to continue the next evening, after meeting up for a cup of coffee. He still had a hard time hugging her goodbye, but she pulled him in a bit closer. He collected his things and said goodnight.

When Spencer got home, he crawled straight into bed. He laid there for a good 5 minutes, unable to sleep. He kept thinking about her. He had wanted to make a move plenty of times, but something inside of him stopped him. He wondered if it was the nerves of a crush or if his mind was telling him that there wasn't anything there but a friendship. He was determined, either way, to find out. To find out which way his heart was taking him, and if she felt the same.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Reid came into JJ's office at lunch. He wanted to talk to her because he knew he could trust her to listen, be honest and not tease him. The other members of the team had this quality as well, but she is currently in a successful relationship and he feels most comfortable talking to her about matters such as this. "Can we talk?"

"I have a lot of paperwork."

"It's about Amanda."

"Sit," she said putting down a file, in just the same manner she had when Garcia had come in to talk to her about Kevin.

"I don't know what to do. It's, like, part of me is so calm around her but another part of me is on fire. There's this heaviness inside of me that could sink the Titanic."

JJ smiled, "Spence, that's a crush. A really big crush at that."

"It's terrible."

"A lot of people like that feeling. I think it's cute that you like her."

"How do I know if she likes me?"

"Normally, you don't. You'd just have to go for it and maybe it works out, maybe it doesn't. You never know until you try. This isn't science, Spence. There's no reasoning matters of the heart. You have to feel it out. In your case, I know that Amanda likes you. She's been hurt before and isn't ready to just jump into something. Her first boyfriend she thought was the love of her life; her last one was a jerk on an epic scale. Trust me, she really likes you. I'm sure that given time and with the right moves, you'll get the girl."

"So what do I do?"

"Every relationship is different. It's a lot harder when you're friends as opposed to just starting off dating. All I can say is keep doing what you've been doing. Be her friend. Show her you care and can be a good boyfriend. Open up a little more emotionally. Don't just talk science and statistics but let your feelings out, too. That's what I would do. If you think she's worth it, don't push it, enjoy every second. It will happen before you realize."

"Thanks, JJ," he smiled. She went over and gave him a hug before kicking him out of her office so she could finish her Cobb salad.

For the rest of the work day, Reid was still nervous because he didn't know what exactly to do, but at least now had a bit more confidence to move forward with.

Amanda was on her laptop while she waited for Spencer. Reed was in a blue duffel bag-like pet carrier under the table. Spencer got his coffee and sat down across from her. "Give me just one second," she said, not looking up. She closed her laptop and smiled at him. "Sorry, I had to book a flight."

"Where are you going?"

"Well, tomorrow I leave for back home, so I can see my friends and family for the holidays. Then I have to go straight to New York for my friend and clients wedding. I still have to find a place for Reed. The hotel doesn't allow dogs and I'll be gone until the 31st." This time, it was Amanda that would be gone for a week.

"He could stay with me. I don't think I'm going anywhere and he likes me, and it would keep him around the same area where he's comfortable," he suggested quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, he's pretty low maintenance. I think I can handle it. We can bring his things over to my place tonight."

"You never cease to amaze me, Spence. Thank you." He smiled down at his coffee. "I normally wouldn't be so trusting of someone I only fairly recently met, but I know I can trust you. Plus, if you screw up and Reed gets hurt or worse, I can cover you in dry quicklime. Wetting it was Gacy's downfall." Spencer furrowed his brow with a hint of fear in his eyes. "I'm only kidding," she said with a smile. "Well, partly, at least. I wouldn't do that. That was Gacy's downfall though. I'm sure you know that dry it preserves the body but mixing it with water speeds up the decomposition so you get that rotting flesh smell. Gacy messed up and the smell gave him away."

"Considering you don't work in law enforcement, I don't know how to feel about you knowing all this."

"I know a little about a lot of things in a myriad of subjects. I told you, when I was in high school, it was what I wanted to do... what you're doing. So, I did a lot of research. Most of my true crime books, whether about killers or the psychology there of, are at my mom's house, but quite a few of them are stacked on my bedside table. I may not have an eidetic memory like you but some random things stick around in my head, after one viewing, for years."

Spencer thought for a moment, "Do you know what the triad is?"

"If you mean the three childhood symptoms regarded as major danger signals, then yes I do. Enuresis when it persists past the age of 12, a frightening extreme of fire starting and sadistic activity such as animal torture."

"What state has the single highest number of serial homicides in the country?"

"I don't know if it was the same but last time I checked it was California, with a full 16% of the national total. Maine has none. Generally the westerns states rank relatively high while New England ranks extremely low. The US is the leading producer of serial killers with 76%; Europe is second with 17%. Most being white men, starting in their 20s. Do I pass?"

Spencer smiled, "We should probably get back to your place." Amanda put her laptop in its bag and gathered her things. Spencer had taken the bag Reed was in, so that they each had two bags and so he could get used to carrying the bag. "I'll take him and meet you by the front door," he said as he opened the café's door for her.

"Sounds like a plan," she smiled.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Amanda waited for Spencer by the apartment's front door, holding it open for him. When they got to Amanda's apartment, Spencer let Reid out of his bag, but kept the bag by the front door for when they leave. "Hope you don't mind if I put some background music on. I never understood the physics of it, nor do I care to, but it makes me work a little faster."

"Um, yeah, that's fine."

She set up her computer and Oingo Boingo's "We Close Our Eyes" started to play. While the music made her work faster, it slowed Spencer down a bit. This was because he was trying to pay attention to the lyrics as Amanda softly sang along, while she made a fresh pot of coffee. By the next song, he was back to his normal speed.

"Why do you have a book called "Liberace: Your Personal Fashion Consultant?""

"I'm all over the board with most things. That one I got for a quarter. I like my book collection to be like I like my men: sometimes classic, full of knowledge on a myriad of subjects, quirky, orderly, occasionally romantic, cute and funny."

"How many existentialists does it take to screw in a light bulb?" Spencer asked, slightly chuckling to himself.

Without missing a beat she answered, "Two."

"Um, yeah. How'd you know that?"

"Most of the time, I don't have the statistics or anything, but usually one of the answers is 'two' to any of the light bulb jokes. Sorry. Plus, I heard that one in high school. I get it and it was funny to me maybe 10 years ago. Now, not so much."

"Oh," he seemed a bit downtrodden.

Amanda gave him a sad puppy dog face and patted his cheek. "Aw, I'm sorry. I ruined that moment for you. It's a funny joke. I've just heard it before. My psych teacher in high school loved telling those types of jokes and quips. Don't take it personally. You're adorable and sweet and make me laugh. Granted, not a side-splitting laugh, but you do make me laugh."

Spencer smiled out of the corner of his mouth, and then he put all his focus back into the books. About 20 minutes later, 3/4ths of the shelves were filled. She brought him more coffee and went to gather Reed's things for him.

By the time she came back, Spencer had finished. "Looks great, Spence. Thanks again for this."

"No problem. I actually enjoyed it. It was kind of comforting."

"Well, I gathered up Reed's things. His food, treats, and a pig's ear are in one bag. A scoop of food and half of a treat at a time should do it. The ear helps his teeth so just leave it out and let him chew at his convenience. There's another bag for toys, a blanket and his sweater. He's a lap dog so he'll want to be on you or next to you as much as possible. If you don't want him on the bed or couch, just tell him to get down and he will. He'll still want to sleep by you, though, so put the blanket over by your side of the bed. He only really barks when he feels someone is threatening or he wants attention. He takes one to two walks around the block or the park, depending on how hyper he is, unless you count potty beaks. I think that covers Reed specific directions. I'll help you carry the bag since you have three, including your own."

"Okay. I guess we can go now." He grabbed his bag as well as the bag with the food, as it was the heaviest of Reed's things. She put Reed on the leash and took his toy bag, not forgetting his oversized iPhone. Spencer was waiting for them, holding her door open for her.

When they got to the stairs, Amanda started heading down to the lower floor. She took two steps down when Spencer said, "No. This way." He gestured upstairs. She looked at him confused as he climbed to the next floor.

"You've lived here the entire time and didn't tell me?"

"I didn't think it was needed. I'm sorry. I didn't know it was a big deal. How did you think I got here so quick after you called when I was in the shower?"

"I don't know. I thought you lived close by in the neighborhood or something. It wasn't a 'need to know' thing, just an 'it would've been nice to know' thing."

Spencer unlocked his door and ushered them in. When he turned on the lights, she saw they had the same floor plan. The décor was incredibly simple. Bookshelves were filled on the long wall, with a 20" TV sitting in the middle of the shelving across from the seating; there were more bookcases on 2 of the 3 dining room walls, the third had the door to the kitchen and a small roll top desk. The living housed a love seat and a coffee table; the dining just had a club chair. The bedroom door was closed.

She looked out the glass doors to the balcony. "You're right. You do have a nicer view. But only a very slightly better one. Where do you want the bag?"

"Right there is fine," he said, putting away his gun and badge in the desk.

She set the bag down and took Reed off the leash. "I really do appreciate this."

"Really, it's no problem."

"What if you have to go on a case?"

"If can't bring him with I wouldn't be surprised if Garcia offered to help. He just might come home with a few new sweaters. JJ might see if Will and Henry could watch him. Apparently, Buggs love kids. He'll still be cared for if I do."

She went over to him, giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Spence. I really should be getting to bed. I'll call when I get home. Have fun and be safe." With that she left.

Spencer touched his cheek where she had kissed it. When he finally collected his bearings, he started to unpack Reed's things. Reed had already begun unpacking, digging through a bag to get his favorite toy.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Amanda got to Chicago and met her friend, Holly, at Water Tower Place, so they could put Amanda's bags in the car. Holly was a year younger than Amanda, they grew up just houses down from each other. Amanda often compared Holly to actress Gabrielle Union, but with a more Janet Jackson complexion.

It took an hour from when they met up to be seated at the restaurant. "So how are you? How's Dan and 'Little Man?'" Amanda asked, referring to Holly's husband and their child. Dan was a few months younger than Amanda, a tall blonde with blue eyes, whom Holly met their first year of college. They were married after two years. Within the first year, she had gotten pregnant.

Amanda and Holly were like sisters, so she was the natural choice for godmother. It was hard on both of them when Amanda moved, both to Chicago and then Fredericksburg, but they stayed in contact as much as possible. Holly regularly sent copies of pictures and some of Jordan's class projects.

Amanda always referred to her godson as 'Little Man,' though his name was Jordan. They named him after the Chicago Bulls legend, Michael Jordan. They were determined to name their child after him, so they had decided that no matter what sex the child was, its name was to be Jordan. He had turned six that year.

"We're all really good. They're waiting at home. I thought we could have a nice, peaceful lunch before going back to the man zone. They're home watching the Bears game. Oh, before I forget, we got ticket for all of us to the Blackhawks on the 26th. His parents are going to watch Jordan since it starts at seven."

"Alright. Awesome. I can't wait to see my little boy. Or Sharpie, even though he's married. Quite possibly the prettiest hockey player I've ever seen."

"Uh huh, yeah, well, Jordan's at that age where he's asking really dumb annoying questions. Couple that with Dan, I could use this break." Both women started laughing. "It's been a while since I heard from you, how have you been?"

"Good. Work's been really busy lately. Reed has been just a peach."

"Yeah, I see you didn't bring him. Jordan was looking forward to meeting him."

"I have a wedding to work once I leave here and the hotel doesn't allow dogs so Dr. Spencer Reid is watching him."

"Dr. Spencer Reid?"

"Yep. I met him… I want to say the beginning of last month. Kid is our age and has like 4 PhDs or something and works for the FBI."

"So…"

"Yes, he's friggin' adora-bobble, and smart, and sweet and I'm getting a bit flushed thinking about him."

"Well?"

"Nothing. When someone has an IQ of 187, usually the social skills are a bit lacking, so he's got this whole nervous awkwardness to him, which makes him even sexier, let me tell ya. I don't have a clue if he likes me like that. I think so, but I'm not 100%"

"Didn't take you that long with Mark or Steve."

"They were different. We grew up with Mark. He was an outgoing hockey player and we didn't start dating until we knew each other for, like a decade. Steve was a musician who asked me out not two minutes after we met."

"Okay, I'll give you that." Amanda smiled and showed Holly the picture of Spencer and Reed on her phone. "Oh how cute, Amanda. Looks just your type. If you don't do something about this guy, Amanda, I will hunt you down."

"Love you too, Holls. Ya know, part of me wants to lick his face like an ice cream cone." They took a two hour lunch. It took 45 minutes to get back to Holly's house. They sang and danced in the car to the music they grew up with the entire time. Amanda wasn't a goofy person by nature, only when she was having fun with Holly.

They walked into Holly's beautiful home in a gated community. "Auntie!" Jordan screamed from the couch. He ran up to Amanda and gave her a big hug. He dragged her off to his room to show her his things he had gotten since her last visit. During the commercial of the football game, Dan got Amanda's bags and put them in the guest room.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Christmas Eve had come to Virginia. Spencer woke up Reed curled up next to him. His back pressed against Spencer's cheek. There really hadn't been a moment in the last few days Reed wasn't by his side. The team was having dinner at JJ's that night; gifts were to be opened after. Morgan was the only one who wasn't going to be there. He was in Chicago, visiting his family. He rubbed his head with the sleeve cuff of his matching pajama set. He sat up and put on his slippers. He knew once he got off of the bed, Reed would wake up to see where he was going. Once he put his jacket on and picked up his keys, Reed ran to the front door and waited for him. Groggily, he put Reed's leash on and took him out.

When they got back in, Spencer put on the Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat" album, started coffee, filled Reed's bowls, and then went to take a shower. He flipped between the local news and BBC World News while he had coffee and read the paper. Reed had his head on Spencer's lap the entire time.

At work, Reed had free run of the bull pen. He got along with the entire FBI office. Spencer was only half right. Garcia did by Reed something, but it wasn't a sweater, it was a cute little bomber jacket. Everyone was happy that it was a pretty uneventful day, just filled with paperwork and phone calls.

They got to JJ's home at 7pm. Reed and Jack were in Henry's playroom while the men congregated in the living room as JJ and Garcia were in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner. They were talking shop, decorating the tree, as the marathon of "A Christmas Story" played.

Almost out of nowhere, Reid stated, "The origin of the Christmas tree and its ornaments is widely disputed. The most popular theory holds that the tradition was started by a monk said to be Saint Boniface, the Apostle of the Germans, came to Germany around the late 7th and early 8th centuries to preach. He was the first one to bring a fir tree to the German people to decorate, claiming that its triangular shape represented the Holy Trinity. The tradition was taken up by the devout Germans who started decorating the Christmas tree in a liturgical way with simple, white candles. This changed in the 15th century when ornaments began to be incorporated into the Christmas decorations in Germany."

"Reid, just put the tinsel on the tree," Hotch ordered.

The girls came out with a hot mug of Glögg, which Reid had brought. He had never tried it, but he knew it was a Scandinavian holiday drink. He knew Amanda was a traditionalist, so he thought he should try it before she asked him too. He figured she would as Swedes drinks about 5 million liters of Glögg at Christmas time.

The moment it hit Reid's lips, the spices and alcohol hit him in the face. It smelt lovely, but he made a wretched face from the taste and started to cough. It did do its job, though, and warmed him up.

JJ patted his back. "Are you okay? Do you need some water?" Will asked. He nodded, trying to regain his composure.

"Can't handle it or did you rake too much at once?" Rossi asked, as Will got Reid a glass of water.

"I think a little of both, actually."

"I think you're done with this," JJ said, taking the mug from him. "Dinner's ready anyway." She went and got the kids.

They all made their way to the dining room, where JJ had set up a beautiful table. Reed sat by the kids, in hopes that they would drop their food. The adults made an effort not to talk about work. Instead they talked about family and what Christmas traditions they grew up with. The way they talked and teased each other, one would have thought for sure that they were a real family.

After dinner they opened presents, letting the kids get a head start while they had coffee. Spencer was the last to start opening gifts since he had to take Reed out. He waited until to open Amanda's gift was the last gift still wrapped.

He opened the boxes carefully, trying to not rip the paper. He felt awkward that everyone was watching him open her gift. The top box was a small pillow made of the same yarn she was using on the blanket he saw her make. He set the pillow on his lap as he opened the bottom box. It was the matching blanket. Snuggled in the blanket was a copy of "Fahrenheit 451." He stared at it with his mouth slightly gaping.

"Well, what is it?" Hotch asked.

"A first edition of Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" with the inscription "For Herb this asbestos-bound first edition of F.451–with good wishes from Ray Bradbury." You see, the title refers to the temperature paper will spontaneously combust, so as a novelty 200 copies of the first edition were bound in Johns-Manville Quinterra, an asbestos material, making the binding fire retardant. Those copies were then signed by the author. This type of binding, however, has not generally weathered well, being white and prone to soiling. Clean copies are now scarce and presentation copies particularly so. For this one to be as clean as it is, it's in excellent condition. It must have cost a small fortune."

"She gave you a handcrafted gift and an expensive book she knew you would love…" Hotch started.

"Sounds like she's in love to me." Rossi finished.

Reid mulled over it all as he set the book on the table and picked up the blanket. It was warm and soft. He grasped it tight and stared as he thought about the night he was sitting oh so close to her on her couch as she worked on it, as well as what Hotch and Rossi were saying. Everyone in the room but him had fallen in love; they knew what it looked like, what it felt like. Was she falling in love with him? Was he? They hadn't even kissed but there was something there.

When Spencer and Reed got home that night, he put most of his gifts on the coffee table; he took Amanda's gifts into his bedroom. He put the book on the nightstand, the pillow in the middle of his bed, and wrapped himself in the blanket after putting his pajamas on. It was warm, inviting, comfortable, and it still had her smell to it. It reminded him of their last hug and the kiss put tenderly placed on his cheek.

He leaned back on the pillow and wrote his daily letter to his mother before falling asleep with the blanket around him, his arms wrapped around him as if he was trying to recreate her embrace. He held himself tight, as if to hold her as close as he possibly could.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

When Amanda got home she took a shower then tried calling Spencer but got his voicemail. She didn't mind, she loved hearing his outgoing message. It was incredibly simple but something in the way he said his name made her heart skip a beat. She made herself lunch and fell asleep on the couch.

A knock at the door woke her up. She smoothed her hair as she went to the door. Spencer was there with a huge grin on his face. He had Reed with him, but not his things. "Welcome home." Spencer said, his eyes sparkling.

"Hey Spence, come on in. I hope Reed wasn't any trouble."

He took Reed off the leash and stepped into her apartment. "No trouble at all. Thanks for the presents. I was going to call but I thought I should say thanks in person."

"You're welcome. I hope you like them. It's not like I can really return them."

"No, I love them. I can't believe that you did that for me."

"It was nothing, really. I crochet as often as I can so when you offered to lend me your book, I thought it was a good excuse to make you something. The book… well, Penelope told me you like Bradbury and it was the only first edition of his that I could find on sale at the time. I had to get it, especially once I found out that only 200 were asbestos bound and that it's one of two novels that were. That one and a limited number of Stephen King's "Firestarter." That one I had to get for myself though. I hope you don't already have it. Honestly, I don't read Bradbury so I wouldn't know if it's any good."

"I don't have that edition. It's pretty rare. I really appreciate it, Amanda. I don't know if you have any plans for tonight but there's a small party for New Year's Eve at the office. I'd love it if you joined me. Maybe we can even go out for dinner first."

Amanda smiled brightly, "I'd like that. Let me just change."

"Great. I'll get Reed's things while waiting." He ran back to his apartment while she changed, leaving his bag in her entryway to make carrying Reed's things slightly easier.

He came back and she was still getting ready so he went back to her bedroom. She was in the bathroom, putting makeup on while the curling iron was heating up. She was wearing a tight, form-fitting strapless red dress. When he first laid eyes upon her, he forgot to breathe for a moment. When he caught it he said, "I put Reed's food and treats away for you."

"Thanks. I'll be a few minutes."

"I can wait," he said, sitting down on the side edge of her bed.

"Well good, because I'm not running out of here without shoes either."

"I hope not. Aren't you going to be cold?"

She leaned against the doorway for a moment, "First of all, I'm from Chicago. The average temperature is about half of Virginia's. I know when it's cold. I will be, but I don't think it's anything I can't handle. Second, that's why I own more than one coat. Are you comfortable?"

"Actually, yeah. None of my sheets are this soft and fluffy."

"It's a duvet. A man like you should know blankets are generally made of wool, sheets are cotton, duvets are made of down or feathers… possibly both. It seems to me, you could use a woman's touch." She smiled and went back into the bathroom.

"Possibly more than you know," he whispered to himself. When she came out her hair was softly curled and clipped off to one side with a white rose and Ostrich feather rhinestone flower clip. She grabbed a clutch bag and started throwing her essentials in it. "You really don't have to be dressed up." Spencer said as he looked her over.

"I love that you think this is dressed up. Last time I wore this I was shopping on Michigan Avenue in Chicago." She sat next to him on the bed to put her shoes on. He looked up and to the left as their thighs touched. "Alright, cowboy, let's get moseying." She patted his knee as she got up.

He opened the passenger door of his 1965 Volvo for her. He had hoped she would say yes, so he had made reservations at romantic little Italian restaurant the day after Christmas. Hotch had recommended it. He had taken Haley there one year for their anniversary.

He ushered her in by the small of her back and pulled out her chair. She wondered why he had chosen this restaurant, she would have been fine with a burger at a fast food place, but she wasn't about to question him. He seemed as nervous and fidgety as the day they met, possibly more so. "Are you okay?" she asked with a concerned look.

"I, uh, um… yeah. I am."

"As long as you're sure." She smiled as she put her napkin on her lap.

He cleared his throat, "You look beautiful tonight. I wanted to tell you that before we got to the party."

Her smile brightened. "Thank you." She was trying hard not to blush when the waiter came over. Spencer ordered a red wine for them.

"How was your trip?"

"Wonderful. I hadn't seen my godson, Jordan, in so long and they grow like weeds at that age. He's six now. The wedding was as beautiful. It was at this gorgeous mansion. How was your holiday?"

"It was pretty good. We had Christmas Eve at JJ's. Other than that, it was pretty uneventful."

The rest of dinner was quiet. They had wanted to say something to each other, but didn't know what. He didn't let her help with the bill, wouldn't even let her know what the total was. She thanked him for dinner as they exited the restaurant.

On the way to the car, she lost her balance due to the slickness of the lightly snow covered parking lot and her Louboutin leopard print ankle boots with a 5 inch heel. She instinctively grabbed his arm. "Oh that was graceful," she said as she tugged at the bottom of her dress.

"Do you need help to the car?"

"No. I'm good. I got it." She took another step and slid forward a bit. He grabbed her by the elbow to help hold her up. She chuckled, "Icy patch." From that point on, they walked arm and arm to the car. They didn't talk on the drive to Quantico, but every so often they looked over at each other and smiled.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

The bullpen was decorated for the party; no doubt, JJ's doing. They were happy to see Amanda… shocked but happy. Nobody had known about Reid's plan. He helped her take off her coat and put it on the back of his chair. After the 'hellos,' Reid went to get them something to drink. He figured that with the wine from earlier and the toasting champagne they'd have later, coffee would suffice.

Garcia came up to Amanda with Kevin and introduced the two. "Penelope, you said he was cute but I wasn't expecting this level of adorableness." Kevin smiled and looked to his feet.

Garcia smiled, "Hey, look at you, cutie. Loving feather and flower clip. I wasn't expecting you to come. Reid never mentioned it. All we knew was that you were coming home today."

"I didn't know I'd be here either. Usually my New Year's involves my godson in Indiana sleeping on me or going to one of many gay bars with Juan. Could be one of the reasons why I haven't had a date in so long." Amanda and Garcia laughed when Reid came back with the coffee.

"I had to make fresh coffee. You wouldn't want to drink what was there, trust me."

"Thank you, Spence." He smiled at the three of them, rocking back and forth on his feet.

Before the boys knew it Derek had taken both girls and was dancing with them. "I don't like this." Kevin said furrowing his brow.

"Neither do I."

"Yeah, but what can we do about it? The girls are happy and you guys aren't even dating." Reid sighed and they waited until the song was over.

The three dancers came back over and Lady Gaga's song "Born This Way" started to play from Amanda's clutch bag. She set her coffee down on Reid's desk, pulling her phone out. "Just one second, it's Juan. Why he decided he wanted that song to be his ringtone on my phone I'll never know." She walked out of the party to take the call.

"Who's Juan?" Reid asked with a nervous anger.

"One of her stylists. Don't worry, he's as straight as the rainbow." Garcia answered, her hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry," Amanda said when she came back. "He wanted to know why I wasn't at the drag show tonight."

After about an hour of small chit chat, Amanda lightly grabbed Reid's bicep. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Nowhere. You're going to dance with me." It was a song Garcia had chosen, "Within You" by David Bowie from the movie, "Labyrinth."

"I can't."

"Don't know how?"

He shook his head no. "Not well at all."

"I'll show you how to box step. It's the easiest step there is." She said taking his hand. When she turned towards him, she pulled as close to her as possible so he wouldn't step on her feet so much. She counted out each step of the simple routine. He didn't do too badly. His nerves were getting the better of him though, being so close to her and having an arm wrapped around her waist, so he kept trying to go faster and almost falling on top of her.

The team watched the impromptu dance lesson. "Aw, would you look at that? That's so cute." JJ cooed. Reid was catching on so Amanda added in how to turn.

"He looks like he's about to throw up." Rossi said. When the song was over, the team scattered so they wouldn't have noticed that they were being stared at.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" Amanda asked as they went to get another cup of coffee.

"Quite the contrary, actually. I really enjoyed it. We might have to do that again sometime. Not in front of the rest of the team though."

Amanda chuckled and put her hand on his back, "You did well, Spence."

They had gotten back to the bullpen just in time for the countdown. The New York ball drop was on the TVs. When they got to zero, Amanda pulled Reid into a quick, soft peck on the lips. "Happy New Year, Spence."

"Happy New Year, Amanda." They could barely get the words out. They stood for a moment looking into each other's eyes, smiling. For a second, she had forgotten how to breathe. The team noticed what had transpired and looked at the two, shocked. "Did you know the New Year's kiss is a superstition to ensure affections and ties will continue for the next year? The failure to observe this practice means the year may be full of icy stares and cold feelings. Only one out of five people actual do it, though. Most people kiss their pets. Other lesser-known superstitions include having money in all your wallets, a stocked cupboard, having your bills paid off, and having a tall, dark-haired good-looking man being the first to enter your home."

She smiled and patted his cheek. She could see why people tired of his verbosity, but she drank it in and lost herself in his words and eyes. The team came over for a toast, which Hotch gave. Reid was obviously still flustered. Amanda was as well but she hid it better. The champagne helped both a little.

They stayed and chatted a while but were the first to leave, as they had the farthest to travel. "I hope you had fun. It was by no means a drag show, but I hope you had fun."

"I really did. I enjoy spending time with you, Spence, and I always make it a point to have fun no matter where I am."

"Is that why you asked me to dance, you weren't having fun up to that point?"

"No. I was having fun from the moment I saw you at my door. I asked you to dance because it was David Bowie and from one of the greatest kids movies of the 80s… at least to me it is. I wanted to dance to a beautiful song on New Year's with a friend who happens to also be incredibly handsome. That's why I asked you." He smirked but didn't say anything.

As they climbed the stairs of their apartment building Amanda sighed, "Ugh, I can't wait to take this off and get into pants."

"Then why did you wear it?" Spencer asked. He was following her up the stairs so when he looked up he could help but look at how her dress clung to her and how short it was.

"I wanted to. I'll be 30 in about a month, I can wear whatever I so choose to, even if it turns out to be a bad idea."

They turned onto her floor. He walked her to the door. "Thanks for joining me tonight."

"Anytime, Spence. Anytime," she smiled. After she unlocked her door, she gave him a hug. "G'night."

"Goodnight." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, for the one flight walk-up.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Once Amanda closed the door behind her, she quickly changed into her warmest pajamas and took Reed out to go to the bathroom. On the way down the stairs, she texted Juan.

Juan was over within 10 minutes, carrying a bag of greasy food. "Hungover already?" Amanda asked as he walked into her apartment.

"Sweetie, you were partying with the FBI, I was with gays and drag queens. Does the FBI party? They don't seem the type. They seem so boring in the movies. Like Clarice in "Silence of the Lambs" or that one Kevin Costner movie about that guy in Chicago."

"Do you mean 'The Untouchables?'"

"Yeah. That one. Boring!"

"There was also a show by that name centered around Eliot Ness. What did you bring me?"

"Ugh, grabby. Get paper plates because I'm not doing dishes." She grabbed plates as Juan unloaded the bags. He gave Reed a half treat. "So was this a party with mysterious Dr. Reid, the famous crush?"

"Yes. He took me to dinner first too. Since when is he famous?"

"Oooh, yay! Since I said so. I mean, it's been much too long since you went out on a date since I don't count. Oh, oh, tell me you kissed at midnight and you wore that dress I told you to wear."

"Fine. Yes and yes. He didn't seem fazed by the dress. The kiss, I think so. I hope so. Nothing else happened though. Not story worthy at least. He liked his Christmas gifts, that I know."

"Ay dios mio," Juan sighed, plopping on the couch. "Okay. So. He was fazed by the dress. I've seen it on you. Even I was turned on and I don't like women. And, I'm telling you, if he didn't like those gifts I would have slashed his tires. You dropped like 2 thousand dollars on that book, after his friend told you it was one of his favorite authors, and you made him the rest. Now, why didn't you make out with him or why isn't he here right now?"

"It's not like that, Juan. I definitely don't do that on the first date and he's one of those genius types that can be a bit socially awkward at first. I'm not even sure it was a date."

"You breeders are strange. Why are we watching "Laverne and Shirley?" I get "Family Ties," it's all about APK, but now the "Golden Girls" is on and I want to know why I am not laughing at my orignial Girls. It's either that or "Sex and the City," Miss Thang."

Amanda changed the channels over to the "Golden Girls." They watched TV and played a full five minutes of the board game "Mall Madness" until they fell asleep on the couch, Reed asleep on top of Amanda's chest.

When Spencer got home he changed into his pajamas. He took out his contacts and put his glasses on. He finished his letter to his mother and looked around his empty apartment. It was so much quieter now that Reed was gone. He contemplated dinner and the kiss. He wondered if she thought it was a date, or if she at least thought so. Part of him hoped that it was a date, part of him thought that it may be too soon.

One thing was for certain, she had kissed him and he enjoyed it. It was a small kiss, but it knocked him over. He hadn't expected a kiss at midnight but he got one. Maybe it was the suddenness of it that bowled him over but he knew that once she pulled back he wanted to kiss her again. When he looked her in the eyes, he could see the sparkle. He wanted to swim in them.

He climbed into bed and curled up in the blanket she made, putting his glasses on the nightstand. He didn't know where to go from this point. Were they dating? Were they just friends? Was this the beginning of a new page in their relationship? He stared at the ceiling in his dark room. After a few minutes, trying to clear his head, he turned the light back on and grabbed his glasses. He began to read his new copy of "Fahrenheit 451" but just over halfway through he fell asleep.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Both Amanda and Spencer had work on New Year's Day. Amanda knew that even though Juan had Sundays off, the entire salon would know about her night. She loved him dearly, but he had a big mouth. She braced herself as she walked in. She headed straight to her office, but not without noticing that the few staff members were there were staring at her. She had more important things to think about, like ordering hair color and whether or not to call Spencer.

Over lunch, she video conferenced with Holly. After talking about Holly's family for a good 20 minutes, Amanda caught her up on everything that had transpired since she left. "You know, Amanda, I love you. So I mean this in the nicest possible way… I am not at all surprised that you haven't dated in ages. I don't know this man so I can't say for sure but it sounds to me like he likes you. Any man that does those things for someone he recently met, there's ulterior motives. Depending on the guy what those are but I think you're safe with this one. Don't listen to Juan anymore. While the little red dress would work on any other man, this one is special. He's a rare breed. Talk to him, connect emotionally and woo him. You're a smart girl, you'll figure it out. Remember: He's a Doogie, not a Vinnie."

Amanda chuckled. "Yeah, I think I'm going to just let it ride. I have tomorrow off so I'll probably just stay in all day and think and crochet. Who knows, maybe he does like me but doesn't want anything more than a friendship. I don't want to ruin that. I've become content in the fact that the only straight men in my life are Cary Grant, Paul Newman, and James Dean."

"You're incorrigible. I hope you realize this."

"Oh, I know. It's part of why you find me charming. We'll see what happens. I'm not going to push it but I'll keep the option to open. I'll talk to you soon, dear. Give Little Man a big hug and kiss for me."

"So what happened?" Morgan asked as Reid walked into the BAU offices.

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Reid. Last night… you and Amanda… I want to know what happened."

"Nothing happened," Spencer shrugged.

"I saw you kiss. It may have been a New Year's kiss but that's still something. Especially for you."

"It was a New Year's kiss. It meant nothing but a greeting to the new year."

"Do you really believe that?"

"If she has a Julbocken and tomtes, she's most likely a traditionalist. At least when it comes to holidays. So, yes, I do."

"What are those and how do you know she does?"

"They were all over her apartment. A Julbocken is a Swedish Christmas straw goat and tomte is a Scandinavian folklore creature similar to a gnome that was said to take care of the farmer's home and protect them at night. In later years he brought gifts similar to Santa Claus."

"Whoa, when were you at her place?"

"That time? It was a couple days before she left to go back to Chicago for Christmas. I was helping her organize her books and offered to watch Reed. That kiss meant more than New Year's, but that was just a thank you kiss on the cheek."

"You're killing me, man," Derek said throwing his head back.

"What?"

Derek sighed, "A girl like Amanda… I guarantee it was more than that. If she's a traditionalist like you say she is, she may just be waiting for you. You know what, this is something that you're going to have to figure out for yourself, because if I have to tell you my head is going to explode. If you can't figure out with that big brain of yours that the two of you like each other, then I can't help you. You need to do this one on your own. You're a big boy, you can handle it." He patted Reid's shoulder as he went to his desk.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Two weeks had gone by. They weren't trying to avoid each other; work had gotten in the way. Reid had cases and seminars, Amanda had a salon to run, refresher courses for the entire salon to take, weddings, and the local high school's winter dance was coming up. It was the weekend and the BAU was slow, so Spencer had the weekend off. This was, of course, if the team didn't get called in on an emergency.

Rossi had talked to Reid that morning, he told the story of his relationship with Emma. It was the same one he told Hotch while they were looking for Foyet. How he had made the case his life and missed a life without her, and by then it was too late. A lifetime had passed and she would never be his.

It was too cold to sit outside in the park so he read and had a cup of coffee in the café. He was halfway through Machiavelli's "_Discorso sopra le cose di Pisa."_ "Hey you, long time no see." He looked up to see Amanda's smiling face looking back at him. She had cut her hair. It had a similar style to Victoria Beckham's concave bob, though Amanda left her hair brunette.

"Yeah, tomorrow it will be a full two weeks. Would you like to sit with me?"

"You're reading. It's fine."

"No, please. That's what bookmarks are for." She smiled and sat across from him. Spencer looked around, "Where's Reed?"

"He's still at the salon. He wanted a nap and there were kids there loving on him so I left him. I'll take him for a walk later."

"You cut your hair."

"There's no getting passed you, is there?" she chuckled.

"It looks nice."

"Thank you," she smiled. He nervously smiled back as she drank her coffee. After a few silent moments, they talked about what they had been up to since they last saw each other. Amanda seemed intrigued by the seminars he gave and had attended. They talked for half an hour, not once mentioning New Year's Eve or their kiss.

He walked her back to her car. Just as she was about to put the key in the door she turned to him, "There's a Jean-Luc Godard triple feature tonight. If you don't have to go to work early… would you like to join me?"

"You want to see a French film with me?"

Her eyes darted from side to side before landing on his face. She held up three fingers, "Three. I want to see three Godard films, in the original French, with you."

He squinted and opened his mouth to trying to speak but couldn't find the words. "I, uh, yeah. I'd like that."

She smiled brightly, "Great. They start at 7pm, end at midnight. So we'll leave around 6, since it's in DC. If you want to come over earlier though, I'm getting take-out."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Well, it's not the Invasion of Normandy, but yeah a plan it is." She quickly kissed his cheek and got in her car. "I'll see you tonight, Spence," she said before closing the door and heading back to finish her work day.

He watched her drive away, crossing his arms. He wondered if he was just asked out on a date. It seemed that she liked him, but then again maybe she was this way with all her friends. He decided then and there that he was going to go over for dinner. He had finally admitted to himself the night before that he truly did had a crush on her but it was still difficult to say out loud; even just to himself in the mirror. As much as he liked her, and as much as he thought she liked him, he still had reservations. They both worked all the time, and he was constantly taken all over the country because of it. It was because of this work that many of the relationships involving BAU members rarely lasted. For a brief moment he wondered what he could even bring to a relationship, but quickly shook it off. The important thing was that they liked each other. He knew he wanted to further the relationship but didn't want to make a move until he was sure she liked his just as much as he did her. His only question, really, was how to make the butterflies stop.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Since Spencer didn't work that day, he waited around his apartment watching a repeat of "Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking," and reading all he could on Jean-Luc Godard, as he didn't know which movies were going to be shown. Amanda always parked her car in the same spot. When he saw her car was in the lot, he grabbed his things and made a beeline for her apartment. He didn't mean to, but his heart and legs wouldn't let him go any slower.

When she opened the door, Reed ran up to him. Amanda was on the phone, still in her work clothes, ordering dinner and waved him in. He sat down on the couch and Reed jumped up next to him. When she got off the phone, she sat on the other side of Reed. "The food should be here any minute, I called from the salon. I hope you're okay with Thai."

"Yeah, no, that's fine. So, who was that on the phone then?"

"Oh, that was my receptionist. I was just double-checking when my first appointment is tomorrow."

"I have a hard time believing that you can watch five hours' worth of movies then go to work in the morning."

"A) The "Ma and Pa Kettle" series are movies. As much as I love them, they are just that... movies. This... this is classic cinema. There's a big difference. 2) Once I get home and take Reed out, I'll go to bed. I'll still get enough sleep."

The buzzer rang and Amanda got up to get the food. She brought the food over with chopsticks that resembled large clothespins. While they didn't slip, Spencer had a hard time picking anything smaller than a piece of chicken. Amanda softly giggled while getting him a fork. "Thank you. What is this that you're watching?" he asked, pointing at the TV with his fork.

""H.R. Pufnstuf." I grew up on that show. Why?"

"It's incredibly colorful and… disturbing."

She rolled her eyes at him as she picked up the remote. "Though the creators deny any drug references, it's quite fairly obvious the show was one big drug reference that kids under 10 years old couldn't catch. If you really want to see colorful and disturbing, I recommend watching Dario Argento's giallo film "Opera." It's quite beautiful in it own way, too. I believe Argento called it a film about the complete absence of love, as it was written during the '80s AIDS pandemic. Though, you really couldn't tell. I could be wrong so don't quote me on that. There, channel changed. Do you have a problem with "Night Gallery," too?"

"No. Actually I like Rod Serling. It's not as good as "Twilight Zone," but it's pretty good and had some great cameos."

"Wait. Hold on a second. Back the trolley up. I'm confused. You're a Supervisory Special Agent at the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime at Quantico and you're disturbed by a children's show from the late 60s and early 70's?"

"This one, yes."

"You're not allowed to see half of my movie collection."

"What? Why?"

"Along with the classic and what 'normal' people deem disturbing, like the Guinea Pig movies, I have a ton of terrible movies and shows on DVD s and VHS. I have a feeling you wouldn't be able to sit through cartoons like "Clutch Cargo" or even "Jem."" He looked at her confused, with a raised eyebrow. "What? Childhood nostalgia is a terrible thing to waste." Softly, he smiled and laughed. They quietly finished dinner while watching "Night Gallery."

Amanda cleaned Reed's Potty Patch and laid it out for him, just in case he had to go, as well as a little food in his bowl. Spencer was already waiting by the front door, with his coat on, while she grabbed her purse and coat.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Going out of town for about a week, as sort of my version of a vacation. So there will be no updates until possibly Tuesday, July 5****th****, CST. I'm hoping to write while gone but I won't have access to a computer so it'll take time to type the chapter/s up. Would appreciate coming home to lots of lovely reads and reviews to keep me going! Hope you keep coming back, not only in my absence, but in my return as well. Thank you in advance!**

**Chapter 31**

Amanda had previously set her car radio to the local oldies channel, so when she turned the car on, it was still playing. The song on the radio was "Moonlight Serenade" by Glenn Miller. She winked at him before backing out of the parking space. She told him that she always loved listening to Glenn Miller. Her grandma always played his music for her and she was taken ever since. To this day, she still couldn't get enough big band, jazz and swing music and if she could only find the perfect partner she'd want to learn to swing dance. She realizes that, like her taste in books, her musical taste is eclectic and possibly odd as it contains big band to punk, classical to '90s hip-hop.

It took them an hour to get to Washington, DC. They arrived at an old movie house that now only shows independent films. It was renovated to look exactly as it had back in the 1950s. The marquee read the three Godard films for the night: "À bout de souffle," "Bande à part," and "Alphaville." They walked arm in arm into the theater together, her hand lightly rested on the crook of his arm. She wouldn't let him pay for his ticket, as she was the one that asked him out.

The theater was small and they sat in the middle waiting for the first film to start. Amanda figured of the three that Alphaville would be his favorite, so when the film started and she noticed his arm on the rest, she patted the top of his hand and left it there. He shifted in his seat nervously and, in doing so, caressed her hand with his thumb. They sat that way for the rest of the feature.

After they left the theater Amanda asked, "So what do you like to do after you see a good movie?"

"Usually I go home and go to bed."

"Oh, okay."

"Did you have something else in mind?"

"Usually I go out for pie or coffee or something and talk about it. We don't have to though. I'm sure you're getting tired."

"No, we can do that. You're the one with work in the morning. I figured you'd want to get to bed."

She smiled, "Are you saying you'd like to get some pie with me?"

Spencer looked off to the right and nodded. "Yeah. I'd love to get some pie with you."

Her smile got bigger, "Great. I know this place that closes at 2, so we'll have plenty of time."

They sat across from another in a booth at the trendy diner that she took them to. They talked about Godard's life, his friendship with Truffaut and their differences cinematically, French New Wave film, why some people swear by him and some think he's too pretentious, and what he's done to change cinema. They ended up closing the place down.

On the way home they discussed psychology. Amanda admitted she has seen every episode of "Discovering Psychology with Philip Zimbardo" several times, and has a subscription to "Psychology Today" magazine. In fact, during lunch that day she was reading an article in the newest edition called "Secrets of Special Agents."

By the time they got to her door they were talking about the DSM V and how coercive paraphilia was once again rejected. Both Spencer and Amanda actually owned all four that were out. Spencer was five minutes into rambling off the criteria changes for the next book due out in May 2013 when Amanda grabbed him by the back of his neck and kissed him hard.

When the kiss was broken, he sheepishly smiled as he ran his fingers through his hair. They were both breathing harder, hearts pounding. "Goodnight, Spence," she said, backing into her apartment.

Before she was through the door, he stopped her. "Amanda?"

"Yeah, Hun?"

He walked up to her and cupped her chin in his hands before kissing her softly and passionately. "I'll, uh, I'll see you soon." He turned around and quickly walked to the stairs, looking down at his feet. Amanda wanted to say something but was left shocked and tongue-tied. It was too late for the time being. She smiled and nodded to herself before going in and paying all her attention to Reed and her bed.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

It was Tuesday before work let Reid have some time to himself. He had grabbed a quick dinner and then headed to the café for a coffee and biscotti. Amanda was there; her eyes lit up when she saw him walk in. "Hi!" she called out. He shyly smiled and waved. He didn't want to go over to her because if he did he would stay and he wanted to get his coffee first. Plus, there was a man sitting across from her in a black button down shirt and fedora.

That was all Spencer could see of the man at the time, but after Amanda called out to him the man turned around. He was a handsome Mexican, in his late twenties or early thirties, with honey colored eyes. He raised an eyebrow at Spencer and gave him a sly smile.

When Spencer went to the cashier to put in his order, the man turned to Amanda. "Oh my god, that's him isn't it?" Amanda just smiled and nodded. "Eh, not my style but I can SO see you going after that. He does have a gun and a badge. That's hot." He leaned back to take another look at Spencer. "I can't tell if he has a nice tush with that coat on. Ooh, now, if he only had a uniform… that I wouldn't kick out of bed for spilling crumbs. In fact, I'd probably tie him to it," he chuckled.

Amanda lightly slapped his arms and looked at him wide-eyed, "Stop that. You're so bad. Oh, please do not embarrass me or scare him off."

He rolled his eyes, "I would never. Lord knows you need this."

Spencer came up with coffee in hand. "Hi. I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Oh, no," Amanda said touching his hand. "Spencer, this is Juan. He's my head stylist and master colorist. Juan, this is Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid of the FBI."

As they shook hands, Juan invited him to sit with them. Spencer was pulling his chair in closer to their table and Juan gave him a seductive look. Spencer looked scared out of his mind, running his fingers through his hair. Amanda saw the look on his face and tried to keep from giggling. "He's harmless," she assured him.

"Speak for yourself, honey," Juan smirked. "So, Mr. G-Man, can I ask you a question?"

"Um, yeah, sure," Spencer said, bring his coffee to his lips.

"Do you have the hots for Amanda or not? Because, it looks to me like you want me to leave so you two can make out. You really need to take that coat and cardigan off so we can see what you're working with."

Spencer choked on his coffee. Amanda looked at Juan like a deer in headlights. "What?" Juan shrugged. Amanda put her hand to her forehead and shook her head. "You've been out twice, you're obviously gaga over each other, and you need to get over yourselves. I'm sure you're both tired of those long cold lonely nights by yourselves. I know I'm getting sick of these boring stories of you two." He rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee.

"You talk about me?" Spencer asked looking at Amanda.

"Now you know why I knew exactly what you and JJ were up to. But, to answer your question, yes I do. You're my friend. My friends are important to me. Though, I'm not sure about this one right now," she said gesturing to Juan.

"Friend? Why don't you admit you're dating? It didn't take this long for me and my exboyfriend. Ooh, you guys live in the same building… is there going to be midnight rendezvous that turns into an out of your jammies party?" Juan asked, excitedly.

Spencer looked back and forth between Juan and Amanda, scared. He couldn't believe how up front Juan was. He also had no idea how to respond or if he should. He wasn't sure if they were dating, neither one of them had ever brought up the subject. Until they had kissed in front of her door, he wasn't even positive she liked him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to Spencer before turning to Juan. "I thought you were going to be nice."

"I was. I didn't ask him how big he is or if he was a virgin or anything. Though, I wouldn't doubt it. I read somewhere that kids with high IQs are less likely to has sex and don't even kiss that much. I guess at Wellesley, like, none of studio art majors were virgins, but around 70% of bio majors were, and over 80% of biochemistry and math majors were virgins. I mean, you always say intellectual people have found one thing that's more interesting than sex."

"That was Aldus Huxley." Spencer said, finally being able to find his voice.

"Whatever. I'm just saying that smarter people have less sex. It's a fact. Sorry, Amanda," he shrugged with a smirk. "Anywhosil, I'm going to go. "Absolutely Fabulous" is starting soon," Juan said getting up. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Dr. Reid," he said, sticking his hand out.

Spencer took his hand and shook it. "Um, yeah, pleasure meeting you, too."

Juan walked over to Amanda who stood up. They hugged tightly and kissed each other on the cheek. He whispered in her ear and she rolled her eyes but smiled. "Tootles!" Juan said through a smile as he waved goodbye and grabbed his bag.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Once Juan left, Spencer turned his attention to Amanda. "Is he always like that?"

"No. Sometimes he's worse. He's actually pretty calm at work."

"I'd hate to see him at his worst." Amanda chuckled and placed her hand on his arm. He sighed and smiled at her. He didn't know what else to say so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Days were only 18 hours long a billion years ago."

Amanda nodded, pursing her lips. "Interesting." She tilted her cup, back and forth; it was empty, but she didn't want to leave the table. "Because of a recent finding in Inner Mongolia, it was found that today's largest-weaving spiders are approximately 130 million years older than previously thought."

Spencer took her hand from around the cup and held it in his, giving it a light squeeze. She looked him up and down before holding his hand tighter, caressing his index finger with her thumb, smiling. "I almost wish I didn't have to go back to work," she sighed.

Spencer thought for a moment. "I recently got this documentary from 2006 called "The Bridge." Would you like to come by tonight after work and watch it with me?"

"That would be wonderful."

"Then I'll be waiting."

"Good."

He furrowed his brow, "Good?"

"Well, you'd have to be waiting. I mean, I do have to go back to work after all. Plus, as much as I am a proponent for punctuality, I think sometimes waiting can be good on the heart and soul. Then again, I also think the same thing about fear and getting a little bloody. But that's usually just Juan and my excuse for watching "Koroshiya Ichi" and just some of the worst horror movies ever. Ichi isn't bad at all, I really like it, but we watch movies like "Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood," or "Sleepaway Camp" just to make fun of it. We also laughed at "Tetsuo: The Iron Man" and "Mermaid in a Manhole"even though they're great movies. "Tetsuo" is understandable just by the trailers though; you'd have to sit through "Mermaid" to see why we laughed and even then you may not get it."

"You are very strange... The sad thing is I could definitely see you doing that."

"And you are not strange? Everyone is, my dear. Nobody likes boring. There some things that you can't argue with me on, even if you are a genius. This is one of them. Now, come on, walk me to my car."

Spencer shook his head as they got up. After she threw away her cup he held the door open for her. "So, uh, is will tonight be a date?"

"Spence, you asked me. What do you think?"

"I've never actually asked a girl out before."

She squinted as she looked at him. "You…You're kidding, right?" He pursed his lips as he shook his head no. "Well, you have now, I guess," she smiled brightly through a small laugh.

"I guess so," he retorted, as he opened the car door for her.

"Now all you need to do is figure out what happens next," she smirked. She closed the door and blew him a kiss through the window before leaving.

He walked confused back to his apartment, with one hand holding his coffee and the other stuffed into his pocket. He fiddled with his keys and the tin of mints Morgan had given him as he mumbled to himself: People who are newly in love produce decreased levels of serotonin. The oldest known love song was written about four thousand years ago from an area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The tradition of the diamond engagement ring comes from the 15th century when Archduke Maximillian of Austria gave a diamond ring to his fiancée, Mary of Burgundy. Couples usually wait until six to eight dates before they exhibit willingness to enter an exclusive relationship. Typically, one should wait until the third date to cook someone dinner at home. Where are we in this relationship? What type of relationship is it now, anyway?


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

When Amanda got back to the salon to look over the days books, Juan followed her into her office, duster in his hand. "So, I'm guessing our date tonight is cancelled," he said with a smirk, dusting her shoulder.

She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Yes. I finally have an official date with Spence. We aren't just pussy-footing around now. Tomorrow I promise Reed and I will be at your doorstep ready for our date, with bells on. Though, not literally."

"Oohh, you know if I don't get a good story I will chase you down with a curling iron, right?"

"Haven't you ever heard of the phrase 'good things come to those who wait'?"

"Please. When have you ever known me to be patient about things I want?"

"You've never been modest, either." Amanda remarked as she picked Reed up and put him on her lap.

"You wouldn't be if you looked this good either," he softly fluffed his hair.

Amanda chuckled before saying, "Doesn't your station need cleaning?" He mocked her as he left. When she was done, Amanda finished the cleaning in the salon and locked up.

She took Reed out before getting into her apartment building and up to her place. Reed chewed on his pig's ear while Amanda got ready. He even barked and went to get his plush iPhone when she asked if he was ready to go see Spencer. She put on his leash and made the one flight trek to Spencer's apartment. She knocked on his door and yawned.

During the time Amanda had been at the salon, Spencer was getting ready for their date. It was their first official date, as far as he was concerned, and he wanted it to be perfect. He went on an internet radio website and created a playlist based on Pachelbel and Glenn Miller. He ran to get the blanket and pillow she had made him and put the blanket on the back of the couch and the pillow against its arm, fluffing it in the process. He did the very few dishes that were in the sink and obsessively cleaned what he could around the apartment. When he realized she would be coming over soon, he started a pot of coffee. When she knocked, he began to freak out, his eyes flying around the room, trying to figure out if there was anything else he should have done. He grabbed the mints Morgan gave him out of his coat pocket and threw back the entire contents into his mouth. After he chewed and swallowed the entire tin, he went to the door.

He opened the door to find a beaming Amanda in her pajamas holding onto Reed's leash. Artie Shaw's "Deep Purple" was playing in the back. "Hi, Spence. Sorry, I had to get into something more comfortable." He smiled as he ushered them in. As she took off Reed's leash she looked at Spencer and said, "Oh, that's a great song."

"Thanks." He began to rub his neck, "It's not usually my taste, but I liked what we listened to on the way to the Godard triple feature so I thought I'd put it on for you. Would you, uh, like some coffee or red wine or something. I really don't have much to offer you… I'm not home a lot."

"Whatever you have will be fine," she assured him. He quickly walked into the kitchen as she sat down on the loveseat. Reed took his toy and went under the coffee table.

As Spencer handed Amanda her glass of red wine and sat down next to her, Teddy Wilson's "The Way You Look Tonight" began to play. He was nervous already, but the romantic overtones of the music made it worse. He hoped that the wine would have helped to calm his nerves but it didn't; not when he was this close to her. "How was the rest of your work day?"

"Pretty slow, it was mostly paperwork and cleaning. Are you enjoying your day off? I'm sure those are pretty rare. Sporadic, at best."

"Yeah, they are. For the most part it was uneventful, until the coffee with you and Juan."

"Yeah, he's an event unto himself."

"I meant, until I saw you." He gave her a meek smile. She patted his knee and took a sip of the wine. He cleared his throat before blurting out, "Why don't I put that movie on?" and getting up to turn the music off.

She thought his nervousness, as uncalled for as she thought it was, was quite adorable. She leaned back on the loveseat, draping one arm on the back of it and bringing her feet up beside her, so that her body was facing towards Spencer, even though her face wasn't. She set her glass on a coaster on the table. When he sat back down, he sat at the very edge of his seat with his forearms on his knees; he'd have to turn his body just to catch a glimpse her.

After his glass and when his arms started to ache a bit, Spencer finally sat back, crossing his legs toward her. When he looked over to her, at the end of the movie, she was fast asleep. He looked down at her with sad eyes. He sighed as he got up. He easily stretched her down on the loveseat, placing her head on the pillow and draping the blanket over her. He took off her glasses and placed them on the coffee table. When she stirred, he held his breath and watched her to see if she was still asleep.

She fell quiet again and he made sure she was asleep. After bringing the glasses to the kitchen, he sat down at the small desk in what would otherwise be a dining room, and wrote a letter to his mother. It was when he was putting the postage stamp on the envelope that she woke up. "Spence?" she yawned, as she sat up.

"Ah, you're up," he turned toward her, putting his arm over the back of the chair.

"I hope so, or this is the oddest dream I've had, and I've had some doozies. Sorry about that. Work must have taken more out of me than I had realized."

"That's quite alright. It gave me a chance to write my mother. You missed most of the movie. Do you want to come back another night and finish it?"

"Honestly, I saw it when it came out, but we can do that." She said as she put her glasses back on.

"Then why did you say yes when I asked if you wanted to see it?"

"Because I wanted to see it with you. I don't care what we do, I enjoy being in your company. If given the opportunity, I'd do so as often as I possibly could."

He smiled and nodded before joining her on the loveseat. He took a deep breath and then looked over to her, "Are we dating?"

She slightly nodded, in thought. "Well, would you like to be my boyfriend?"

"I think so. Yes… yes I really would. I think it would be kind of an honor."

"Then you just answered your own question," she smiled. "I feel exactly the same way." She gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I should get home. We both have work in the morning."

"Yeah…" he sighed as he took her hand. He held it until they got to the door and she had to put Reed's leash on.

"I'm sure I'll see you in at least a couple days, if I don't talk to you first. I did promise Juan we would have a date night tomorrow. Of course it may still be longer if you have a case."

"I can always call you if I do."

"There's really no need. Every second counts on a case. As much as I like hearing your voice, and I really do, I know the nature of the beast. You'll need to pay attention to the case."

"We'll figure out something, then, eventually." He opened the door for them.

"Most definitely."

"Goodnight, Amanda." They hugged, and Spencer realized that he now did so with much greater ease.

She patted his cheek and smiled, "Goodnight, Spence."

She took two steps out before he grabbed her free hand and pulled her back to him for a closer, tighter and longer hug. After, they were still holding each other but leaned back so they could look deep into another's eyes. Amanda kissed him; this time, he kissed her back. They felt as if they were melting into each other as they pressed themselves closer together. They ended the kiss due to Reed pawing at them. She walked backwards, not taking her eyes off of him. He gulped and looked back at her with soft eyes. Once she was out of eyesight he went back into his apartment to change and go to bed.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Reid made a beeline for the coffee the next morning. He almost ran into Rossi who had already gotten his coffee. "Whoa, slow down there tiger. What's the rush? Nobody's that excited about stale coffee."

He shook his head, "Nothing." He couldn't look Rossi in the eye.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I, uh, I just had a long night."

"Long night, huh? Did you finally man up and kiss Amanda or did she get sick of waiting and go out with someone else?" Morgan said from behind Reid.

"Why are you so concerned over this?" he asked, pouring his coffee. Rossi patted his shoulder and shook his head before leaving the break room.

"Why am I so concerned? Reid… come on now. I may tease you, but I'm still just trying to look out for you. So, come on, tell me what's going on."

"To tell you the truth, I'm not ready to talk about it."

"Talk about what?" JJ asked, coming in for her coffee.

"It's nothing, JJ." Reid answered, pouring his sugar.

"He doesn't want to talk about Amanda." Morgan shook his head.

"Why not? Did something happen?"

"I'm not ready to talk about it. It just… it doesn't seem real. Excuse me," he edged his way between them, heading for his desk.

"Is he okay? Is that a good thing or not?" JJ asked, concerned.

Morgan threw his head back. "I don't know what to tell ya."

"Here I thought he couldn't get any weirder." JJ shook her head as they left the break room.

That night, after she had gotten off of work, Amanda and Reed went over to Juan's apartment. The moment she stepped in he handed her a glass of Moscato d'Asti. He was already in his pajamas. "I want to know everything."

"Can I get in the door or change first?"

He rolled his eyes, "If you must. I'll go put the movie on."

When Amanda came into Juan's bedroom, he and Reed were already laying on the bed. She crawled in the other side and took a sip of the wine as Juan started to play his favorite movie, "The Little Mermaid." He stared at her until she started talking.

"I ordered more 20 developer today."

"No. No. You need to tell me what happened between you and Dr. G-Man, like, right now. I only want you to pause to drink and during the songs."

She sighed and took another sip of wine. She knew he wouldn't let up until she told him. "Alright, alright, alright. So, I'll start at the beginning…"

"You better, honey."

"Remember when I left early the other day to go see Godard in DC?"

"Yes…" he adjusted how he sat to get more comfortable and sat Reed on his lap.

"I took Spencer as my gentleman escort. As you told me no lady should have to go alone. Then we got pie."

"Uh huh…"

"Okay, okay. We did kiss."

"Really?" Juan's eyes lit up as he got excited for her. "How was it?" He held up his head with his palm.

"It was… nice. Pretty fantastic, actually." Juan bounced around happily. "After you left us at the café, he finally asked me over to his place. Sorry to tell you, not much happened. We did have a pretty amazing kiss as I left, but nothing during the date. I actually fell asleep during the movie."

"You didn't!" He looked at her utterly shocked. He lightly slapped her arms wildly.

"I didn't mean to! I guess I just hadn't had enough sleep lately. But wow, that kiss… you would have been impressed."

"I hope so," he sighed. "You both needed a great kiss. He does have pretty yummy lips and I honestly don't want to the only man you kiss. I love you, but I just don't like you like that and he looks like he'd be happy to do for you what I don't want to. Yay, you got kissed. Oh, was there…"

"No!" she interrupted. "It was just a soft, sweet, lingering kiss. He also asked me to be his girlfriend."

"Aw, that's so cute. I can't believe people still do that."

"Apparently he never asked a girl out before so I'm guessing all he really knows is from classic literature. There's a song coming up and I don't want to watch the whole movie again, just because you missed a song." After they watched the movie and sang along with the songs, they watched "The Golden Girls," "I Love Lucy," and "The A-List: New York" until they fell asleep.

Spencer checked out the window to see if Amanda had come home yet when he began to write the letter to his mother and again before he went to bed. He didn't know exactly why he had hoped she came home, but he did. Just before 3am, his phone rang, waking him up. He had to leave on a case. He quickly wrote a letter to Amanda and on his way out, pushed it under her door. If she was asleep, he didn't want to wake her. If she wasn't, he didn't want to interrupt her good time.


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: Thanks to Sue1313 for being the only reviewer for the past 3 chapters (as of the posting of this chapter). I always love and appreciate your comments and thoughts. Hope you continue to review & inspire others to do the same. I never know if it's going over well, or just how many people are actually reading this story. **

**Chapter 36**

When Amanda got home that evening after work, Reed sniffed the note. Amanda picked it up and read: In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer. I'm out on a case, looking forward to basking in the warmth of your smile.

She thought his use of Camus was terribly sweet and endearing. Though she found herself a tad dejected over the fact that they couldn't be together in their first days of coupledom, she knew the game they were playing. The careers they had chosen would lead to many times they wouldn't be together. That was their burden to bear but she knew that they could wear it well.

She smiled looking at his chicken scratch writing and placed the note in a box, alongside the movie ticket stub, the Chekhov book note and the card from the flowers he had sent. She had never kept a box for a man before; she thought the notion was quite silly and adolescent. However, for reasons even unbeknownst to her, she felt it quite proper this time around.

She played with Reed for an hour before taking a bubble bath, taking with her a glass of wine and her headphones playing horror legend Christopher Lee reading Edgar Allan Poe, before she headed off to bed.

There was a knock at Reid's hotel room door. It was JJ; the team was meeting for breakfast and she was there to pick him up. After a few silent moments in the car he told her about what had transpired between Amanda and him. He apologized if he had acted rudely the night before; he hadn't wanted to talk about it yet. He told her that he wanted to stay though he couldn't, so he could be with his new girlfriend.

JJ was excited that the two of them finally got together. She loved Reid like a brother and though she hadn't spent much time with Amanda, she liked her as well. They had a lot to learn from each other and they would be good not only to each other but for each other as well.

She knew that being a new couple meant that wild horses couldn't drag them away from each other, but the FBI could. Amanda and Spencer hadn't had any time to truly be together since they met. Once she parked the car, she sighed deeply and looked him dead in the eyes. "I understand you not wanting to tell us. I felt the same exact way when I started seeing Will. It sucks being away, trust me I know. The first time is the worst but it's something you just have to do. We're lucky in that we have someone who knows what work is like for us. Will knows first-hand, and Amanda told me that her mom was a single mom and that she used to date a hockey player when she was younger so she's used to people being gone for a while. You'll just have to learn what we all have on this team… that you need to give 100% to your relationship when you're there and 100% to us when you're working. Make the most out of the time you spend together. Quality time. I know you're new to this and it's easy to get upset. I'm really happy for you and I know you can do this. Just remember that sometimes you have to think with your heart and not your head and that you'll be home soon. You'll be okay."

Reid smiled and took comfort in this. "Thanks JJ, I needed that."

She stopped him at the door of the restaurant. She pulled him into a hug saying, "I'm really happy for you two."

He was smiling by the time they got into the table. After breakfast he rode back to the station with Morgan to explain why he had been in a mood and that JJ had talked to him. Morgan occasionally looked over to Reid, shocked but impressed. He knew Reid had it in him, but he wasn't entirely sure that he would ever ask Amanda out, let alone to be his girlfriend. He was quite proud of him.

He smiled and mussed Reid's hair. "It's all cool. Don't even worry about it. I know you got it bad."

"Got it bad? What does that even mean?"

Morgan just laughed it off, shaking his head. "Just admit that you love this girl."

"But I don't. Yeah, we're dating now, but I still barely know her."

Morgan rolled his eyes. "I don't believe that for one second. Girl is all you talk about when you're not talking about a case. Sounds like love to me. Or at least, infatuation."

"She is not all I talk about. She's a great girl but we're not at that point. We barely started dating. Now, can you please pay more attention to the road than to my personal life?"

It was four days later that they got home and finish the paperwork to officially close the case was done by 11 at night. It was almost midnight by the time Spencer got home. There was a large sticky note on his door from Amanda. In her beautiful, girly script style writing, she wrote: 'Missed you, Spence!' She added a smiley face blowing a raspberry and the word 'always' above a heart before signing her name. He smirked at it as he took it down and opened the door. For some reason, he loved the way she wrote his name.

He put his things away and too a shower. With the only towel he owned wrapped around his waist, he stuffed clothes into a bag to drop off at the cleaners the next morning. He settled in with a cup of hot green tea and wrote his mother. Figuring that it was too late to call Amanda, knowing she had to be up early for work, he finished his tea, put pajama bottoms on and went to bed.


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: Wow, I never thought I'd get so many responses! Thank you, everyone! I'm pretty sure I love you all. I hope you all continue to do so, at least sporadically. Too sweet of you, I think I'm getting a cavity. Definitely feeling the love and it's that love that keeps me writing when I don't think this story is any good. I don't except you guys to get the word out, but giving me feedback makes me love you to pieces. It's a really short chapter today. I'm American, so as such I just celebrated Independence Day. Thusly, I haven't had much time to write as I was drinking too much with family and now need time to recuperate & trying to take care of step-grandpa who just came home from the hospital. Bear with me, the next few chapters may be slow to post for these reasons.**

**Chapter 37**

Spencer made some coffee and took a shower in the morning. He tried calling Amanda while he had his first cup and read the paper. Her phone went straight to voicemail; she must have left early for work. He left her a message: "H-Hi, it's, uh, Spencer. I got your note. I missed you, too. Uh, you're probably at work so it may be lunch before you get this. Um, I should be home by the time you get off tonight. Or… or if you get home early maybe we could meet for coffee. Just… give me a call later. Bye." It was about 10 minutes later she checked her messages, due to a slow couple of minutes.

When Juan came into work that morning to get ready for his first client, she told him that she was taking him on a business lunch that afternoon. "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"

"Today, a good witch. Last night, I got a call from Penelope. She's one of Spencer's friends and teammates. He came home last night… or early this morning, I never know how to word it at those hours. Anyway, this morning he left a message. It was so awkwardly adorable."

"Girl, you crazy for him."

"You're too much a Madonna fan."

"Bite your tongue. There's no such thing."

When lunch came, Amanda took Juan to a quiet restaurant to talk. Reed stayed with the receptionist. "Okay, darling, what is this about?" he asked taking his sunglasses off.

"I wanted to run an idea by you, but first I wanted to give you these." She places a set of keys on the table. "Those are for the salon. I'm promoting you to manager. You're already my right-hand man. Now it's official. There's nobody else I trust with Reed & the salon, nor deserves it more than you."

Juan looked as if he was about to cry. He got up, and gave her a hug and kissed her temple. Once he sat down and put the key in his bag, he fixed his hair. "Okay, so what's this idea of yours? Oh, are you and Boyfriend going to have a slumber party & you want my advice on how to initiate the fun stuff?"

"Um, yeah, no. Not that. I was thinking of renovating the salon. Kind of like the Beauty Bar chain, only a fully functioning salon on one side, not just nails. It'll take a while for the liquor license and I put a bid on the store next door this morning. What we have just isn't working. Kitsch might though, I think. At least, a bar will."

"I always said this town needs an enema."

"I thought that was Jack Nicholson's version of the Joker."

"It was but he was talking about Gotham. I'm talking about Fredericksburg. I wouldn't still be in this town if it wasn't for you. Not enough glamor."

"We're going to go to New York to check out their Beauty Bar so you can get an idea of what I mean, since you've never been there. You'll get all the glamor you can handle there. We can even stop in Chelsea. If we have the money to get there, we'll spend part of the summer at your place in P-Town. I'm not sure how I want to do this, or even if I do. Right now, it's just in the idea and research phase. Either way, I want to expand."

"Yay. I'm so excited. Now, we just need you and this boyfriend of yours to speed things up so I can become a guncle. I'm not babysitting until it's potty trained. Is there a leash law for kids? There should be."

"Oh goodness," she rolled her eyes. "We should get heading back. I have a client in a half an hour. During that nights cleaning, they hashed out what little plans they could.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

9pm rolled around when Amanda called Spencer back. They had decided to meet for coffee as the café would close in an hour. She was already there when he came in. She had a coffee waiting for him at a small table for two. "Welcome home, Spence."

"Thanks. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing pretty well, if I may say so, myself. If all goes accordingly, I'll be in some serious hock soon."

"How is that pretty well? Being in debt is usually a pretty bad thing."

"It's all towards the business. I'm hoping to expand. I'll be in New York for the week of the 5th because of it."

"So you'll be home for Valentine's Day?"

"Yes. It's a huge working holiday in my business. What can I say? Women like getting dolled up for their men. Never celebrated it, myself, though. Too much bloodshed. There was, of course, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. I walked past the site many times. Then there was the Roman priest who defended the Christians and beheaded by Claudius II on February 14th, 269 AD. Why did you want to do something?"

"Uh… not particularly. I was just wondering."

"Okay. Did you want to go over to my place? I'm in need of shower and jammies and I'm sure Reed is getting cold sitting outside."

He took a large gulp of his coffee. "Yeah, we can do that."

"Don't hurt your back, jumping for joy like that," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh… sorry. I, uh, didn't mean for that to sound rude."

She got up and as she passed him she mussed his hair with her right hand as she rolled her eyes. He didn't know why, but it felt good. Maybe it was just her touch, or the spoon ring on her index finger, or that she spends a majority of her days washing hair.

He quickly got up and followed her. "Did you walk or drive?" she asked getting Reed off of the D-ring hook outside. He nuzzled Spencer's shin.

"I had time so I walked. Diesel gas gets really expensive these days. Um, you probably know that already, though."

She chuckled as they walked to the car, "Yes, I do." Reed kept looking up at Spencer. "I think he missed you," she smiled, as they all piled into her car.

She downed the last of her coffee and tossed the empty cup onto the floor in the backseat. "I assume you know what the blood-brain barrier is. Well, I read this article over breakfast this morning. It said that researchers recently found evidence that the caffeine in coffee may, in fact, help to protect the coating, repair damage and ward off harmful invaders. I really never had a reason to drink it as much as I do, other than I'm a Swede who started drinking coffee at age seven or eight. I'm happy I now have science backing me up."

"I honestly don't know what to say to that."

She just smiled and batted her lashed at him before turning into their apartment complex parking lot. Once she parked in her usual spot, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek as she grabbed her purse. Before he knew what hit him, she got out of the cat and grabbed Reed out of the back. He touched his cheek as he exited the car, making sure it was locked behind him.

"Make yourself at home. What's mine is yours. I shouldn't be more than fifteen to twenty minutes," she said as she tossed her purse onto the dining room table.

He sat down on the couch, not comfortable to make himself at home. Reed, however, made himself right at home on Spencer's lap. He had curled up there, his head on Spencer's thigh, and fell asleep. the small dog jerked in his sleep, as if he was starting to run. Spencer didn't want to be kicked, nor wake Reed, so he cautiously him into Amanda's bedroom and set him on the bed.

He sat down next to Reed and looked over to Amanda's nightstand. There wasn't much there; there was laying there a table lamp, and two books with her cellphone on top. As he grabbed the phone and the top book, "Collected Poems 1934-1952" by Dylan Thomas, he unknowingly hit the unlock button. He hit it again, to fully see the wallpaper, to see if his eyes were deceiving him. It was the picture she had taken several months earlier of him and Reed. He smirked to himself. When he saw the bottom book was "Dining Posture in Ancient Rome: Bodies, Values, and Status" by Matthew B. Roller. The smirk became a full blown smile.

When he turned back to Reed, after putting everything back precisely how it originally lay, he had noticed she had left the bathroom door open. He could barely make out her silhouette behind the Chicago CTA map shower curtain. As quickly as he could, he walked out through the living room and to the kitchen, where he got a glass of water.

He had made his way back to the dining room as she exited her bedroom, with her pajamas on and her hair wrapped in a towel. She cupped his face in her hands. "You look so tense. More so than I've ever seen, at least. Is something the matter?"

"No, not at all."

"If you say so."

"Oh, I brought you something back. I got it when we were out on the last case. I left it in my apartment though. I'm going to go get it. Don't go to sleep just yet." He spoke as quickly as he could, backing away from here and towards the door.

"Absolutely adorable," she chuckled to herself after he had gone, turning to go back to the bedroom. She put her towel back and then sat on the bed petting a still sleeping Reed.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

Amanda heard the front door close so she called out, "In the bedroom!" He went back to the bedroom and found her lying next to Reed, stroking his back. "What? You said not to go to sleep. You did not say anything about lying down in bed," she said when she noticed the look on his face.

He held a book out to her. "I, uh, noticed you didn't have any Chaucer. My mom used to read it to me when I was a kid."

She let out an 'aw' and thanked him. She pursed her lips as she grabbed the book with her right hand. Instead of taking the book she grabbed his forearm with her left hand and pulled him down on the bed so that he was sitting by her legs. "Then you shall read it to me."

"All of it tonight?"

"No. You can either read just as much as you can tonight and that's it, or by section at bedtime until it's done. We could also alternate sections. Any of the aforementioned options work fine for me."

"It's 412 pages, fragmented into ten sections, each with at least two subsections."

"Okay. What's your point? Is it so late you want to put your jammies on, assuming that you wear them? Do you not want to read?"

"It's not that. I can do that if you'd like. I was just wondering if we chose the latter two options, where we would stop for the night, exactly."

"Doesn't matter to me. You really don't even have to if you don't want. I can guarantee that if you do, this book will not be touched if you go on a case, until you come back to me." He squinted at her and bit his lip. "If you want to change or something and think about it, that's fine. I can make tea while I wait. You really don't have to nor do we have to start tonight if you decide. It was merely a suggestion due to the fact that I really do love hearing you talk and how sweet I think it would be. "

"So you're basically telling me that I have no way out of this?"

"It's completely fine with me if you don't want to."

"Alright, fine," he patted her leg. "You are quite the Swede. I read somewhere that about half the country is passive-aggressive. You're quite good at it." He sighed as he got up. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. She had never been called that, nor did she think she was. Her family, yes, but she didn't think she was.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he said to himself as he climbed the stairs to his apartment.

He came back wearing a light blue button-down pajama set, slippers, and his glasses. Amanda had two reasons behind her smile: he looked so adorable she could almost eat him and she was almost 100% sure she had seen a slide where her grandpa Hjalmar was wearing the exact same pajamas and glasses.

There were two cups of tea on the nightstand. "I didn't know if you if you took anything in your tea. There's milk, sugar, honey and lemon in the kitchen, if you'd like."

"This is fine."

She patted the pillow next to her. He sat down and took the book and a tea off the nightstand. He took a sip, then set the cup down, before leaning back on the pillow and putting his feet up on the bed. She crawled under the sheets and got as close as she could to him, with Reed lying down between their legs. Her head was on his pillow, almost touching his arm. Feeling her breath almost gave him a chill. He adjusted his glasses and began to read.

By the time he had finished reading the first subsection, both of their eyes were getting heavy. He closed the book, put it on the nightstand and sighed. "I'm going to get going. I'm really tired and we both need our sleep."

She looked up at sweetly. "Okay, I'll walk you to the door," she yawned. Thank you for the bedtime story. I did mean it when I said you didn't have to. It was merely a suggestion."

"I really don't mind. American novelist, poet, dramatist, essayist and James B Duke Professor of English at Duke, Reynolds Price, actually said: "A need to tell and hear stories is essential to the species Homo sapiens - second in necessity apparently after nourishment and before love and shelter. Millions survive without love or home, almost none in silence; the opposite of silence leads quickly to narrative, and the sound of story is the dominant sound of our lives, from the small accounts of our day's events to the vast incommunicable constructs of psychopaths.""

"You're very well versed then, in storytelling, aren't you, Spence?"

"You're the only person I know who will let me talk for a half an hour, not just cut me off after a few minutes. I appreciate that. I really do," he ran his fingers through his hair. "However, tomorrow it's your turn to read."

"Got it. And I can promise you that the only time I will ever interrupt you is if there is too much busyness going on or we have an elsewhere to be five minutes prior. I will not put up with tardiness."

"Those are valid reasons," he smirked as he opened the door.

There was a twinkle in her eyes as she smiled back. "I'll give you a call when I get home tomorrow."

"Alright. Goodnight, Amanda."

"Goodnight, Spence." They gave each other a soft, sweet kiss before he left.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

After a long, exhausting day at work, Amanda came home. It was around 9:30pm. As she changed into her pajamas, and ate a small fruit salad, she called Spencer. She told him that she would be up to his apartment in five minutes. After all, she reasoned, it was only fair since he had read to her in bed the night before.

Once she finished changing and eating, she poured herself a glass of white wine. With her free hand she grabbed the book and Reed and headed out. He had tried running to Spencer's apartment, but she wouldn't let him since she had the wine.

From the moment he had gotten off of the phone with Amanda, Spencer was running amuck. Originally, he wasn't going to tidy up or anything; he was trying to be more comfortable, casual and nonchalant about her coming up to his apartment. That all changed when he heard her voice. The moment that they had hung up he rushed to clean the one dish in the sink, change, make the bed, and stack papers on the desk. He had just put his gun away when she knocked.

Hearing the door unlock, Amanda took Reed off of the leash. He opened the door and they smiled at each other as Reed ran in. Going at full speed, he zipped around the apartment, and onto the seating, before making his way back to them. He had tried to stop but fell over in between them.

"Aw, poor baby," Amanda sighed. "He must have missed you."

Reed looked back and forth between them and rubbed his side against Spencer's shin. This flipped up the bottom of his "Proud To Be A Bugg" shirt. Spencer fixed it and picked him up. "How did work go, today?" he asked, as they walked into the living room.

"My day was pretty decent. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary, at least. How was your day, good doctor?" She took a sip from her glass.

"Relatively uneventful, actually. I did get an invitation to speak at this years' APA convention."

"Oh, the American Psychological Association?"

"Yeah, it's going to be in DC in the fall." He picked up a coaster and they headed towards the bedroom.

"That's pretty amazing, Spence. Are you going to accept? You seem nervous and awkward during social situations; at least, that I've noticed. I mean, tens of thousands of students attend each year."

"I've talked at schools and seminars before, usually with the team. I think I've done fairly well at it. I should be okay."

She nodded as he set the coaster on the nightstand for her, "Well, you know your stuff, probably more than the specialists. So, as long as you're comfortable, I bet you'll just blow their minds."

They smiled at each other as they sat on the bed. He set Reed between them and set glasses on the stand. He had just gotten settled in when Reed put his front paws on his chest and gave him kisses. Amanda was trying not to laugh at Spencer's disgusted face. She was having a terrible time doing so. He moved Reed down between their feet.

"I'll be right back. Don't start reading until I come back."

"Darlin', I wouldn't dream of it."

He smirked as he went to the bathroom to wash his face. She played with Reed and finished her drink while he was gone. She was stretching to put the glass on the coaster when he came out. He took it from her and set it on the nightstand before getting comfortable again.

"Thank you, Spence. Okay now… are you ready, Freddy?"

He furrowed his brow at her, not having heard that phrase before. "Um, yeah." He put his head back onto the pillow. He knew if he had read along with her, he would finish the page before she had finished the first paragraph.

Throughout the reading, they both were yawning. Reed had fallen asleep by the second page. Sometime during the last page, neither knew where on the page, they had both fallen asleep. She had snuggled up to him. She wrapped her arms around his arm and put her head on his shoulder. He had his head on top of hers. During the night, they adjusted themselves, putting their arms around each other. Their bodies were pressed against another.


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: To those criticizing my grammar, please note that this is my first foray into fan fiction and that this is the first thing that I have written in years, outside of a grocery list. I wasn't even the kid writing poetry because I couldn't get a date or the bad seed writing dirty limericks on the bathroom wall. I fully admit that my grammar my not always be perfect, but I do try. I write the way I talk and, as a human, I am not perfect. I may not catch every error while proofreading, particularly when this is done near the midnight hour. This is also especially true when proofreading directly after writing and my computer doesn't catch it, either. At the end of the day, this is all just in good fun. I am by no means a true author. I'm here to have fun, and to connect with other fans. It's not that I can't handle the criticism. It's the fact that I don't believe that I should feel like I am being graded and judged for having fun. I already left high school behind me, years ago, thank you very much. By the time that the chapter is posted, there's nothing I can do to fix it. At least, that I'm aware of. I'm still learning how to use a computer, after all. It was only a few years ago that I learned what I'm doing. By that time, high school was almost over and that was it. I never had to learn anything more. I'm not trying to alienate or upset anyone. I just ask that you give me a break. I'm doing the best that I can, all things considered. That all being said, I hope that everyone enjoys the story, continues to read, have fun and for the sake of Herman Munster, lighten up a bit. After all, there's always worse out there somewhere. I apologize for my ramblings, but I felt I should say something. As the quote from "True Romance goes, as spoken by Clarence Worley (Christian Slater), "****We now return to Bullitt, already in progress."**

**Chapter 41**

Spencer was the first to wake up the next morning. He looked at Amanda wide-eyed and took a deep breath. He tried to untangle himself from her, as quickly as he could. He got up and looked around the room, nervously, and pursed his lips. He was quite embarrassed by the fact that they had fallen asleep in the same bed. He hadn't shared a bed since he was a young boy, back when his mother had read to him. He tried clearing his throat to wake her. It didn't work, so he lightly tapped her shoulder. Slowly, she began to wake up.

"Oh, hi. Good morning, Spence," she said, as she yawned and stretched.

He raised his eyebrows and smiled. When his smiled faded she could see the fear and horror behind his eyes. "Good morning."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. Okay. So… I'll be going then. We both have work and you look quite upset." She got up and snapped her fingers, prompting Reed to jump off of the bed.

"I wouldn't say upset. A little shocked, maybe, but not upset."

She smiled and patted his cheek, "Goodbye, Spence." She put the book under her arm and took the glass by the stem.

Silently, they walked to the living room where she put Reed on his leash. "Would you prefer if we stopped reading to each other at night?" she asked, as she stood up. She didn't glance over to him once.

"That's not what I said, at all. It was just awkward waking up to someone else. I've never done that before."

"Well, my dear, we both work long hours at jobs that drain us. Chances were that it was bound to happen sooner or later. I'm also quite sure that over the course of the time we know each other, there will be plenty of awkward situations and new things that will be done. That's on both of our parts, for that matter. We'll just have to get used to it."

Softly, he sighed, "Yeah, you're right."

"Are you okay with that? I know that will take time, but if having that knowledge is too much…" she trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought.

After a pause, he quickly gave her a peck on her cheek. He would have rather had given her a hug, but her hands were full. He nodded as he back to the door, to let them out.

She stopped in front of him, on her way out. She smiled, "I'll see you soon, then." With that, she kissed his lips and took her leave.

Walking down her hallway, she could hear the newest Lady Gaga single. She groaned and slumped forward as she walked. She was not sure she was ready to deal with what was behind that door.

She got inside, took Reed off of the leash, and set the book on the table. She turned the music down and called out, "Trying to wake the entire floor, are we?"

"Not particularly. I got bored and wanted to dance. Coffee is already made, sweetie," Juan called back from the kitchen. When she came into the room, they nonchalantly kissed. She set the glass on the counter and got a mug for her coffee. "So?" He nudged her, with a Cheshire grin.

"Sew buttons," she replied, much to his chagrin as she poured the coffee.

"Now, look here, missy. I want to know why this apartment was empty when I came in, and why you are coming home just now in your jammies, carrying a white wine glass."

"No time. I have to get ready for work," she quickly responded.

Juan followed her as she made her way to the bedroom. He shook his finger and head at her while she looked through her closet to decide which outfit to wear that day. "You're not going to keep this from me, miss thing. Come on, now, I tell you when I have a lovely gentleman caller over for the evening."

"I know you do, and I never want to know that you do. You're worse than Blanche on "The Golden Girls" and you go more into detail. I need a shower."

Again, Juan followed her as she walked into the next room. "You aren't getting rid of me that easy, honey. By the way, my many, many, men are far cuter than anyone we ever saw Blanche bring home. I like to think that I'm more like Samantha, from "Sex and the City" and my men are like Smith."

"Whatever you say, dear. Do you think you can take Reed out and feed him?"

"I could but my cute little tush is not getting up off this toilet lid until you dish." He sat down, crossed his legs and waited.

Amanda was in the shower, pouring the shampoo into her hands when she decided to come clean. Juan rolled his eyes, hearing about the bedtime story, thinking it was boring. Though, he also did think it was a step closer in the right direction. When she had finished the story, Juan glared at the shower curtain. "You've got to be kidding. That was all you two did? And he was freaked out about that? There is something wrong here. I can't even be in here right now. I'm going to go look after my Reedy-pie."

"Thank you. I love you."

"Yeah, yeah. Love you, too." He took a sip from her mug and left the bathroom.

While Amanda was putting lotion on, post-shower, Juan came back in. "Do you guys, like, go out on actual dates?"

Amanda thought for a second, and then answered, "No. No we don't. Not since we officially started dating, at least. We did go out a couple times before, but with our schedules it's difficult. It's also next to impossible in this town. Not much is open that late besides terrible diners and bars. Those are not the places I want to frequent, let alone on a date."

"Then we'll have to fix that. Oh! I know! The night before we leave for New York, I'll close up at the salon. I'll totally plan your date, too; everything from reservations to the color of your nail lacquer for the night."

"Uh, I don't know, Juan."

"Will you trust me? I'll pretend I'm Frasier Crane or something and play by your slow-as-a-turtle, weird rules."

"You swear on Madonna's kids?"

"On a stack of Streisand albums."

"Ugh. Alright. One time, Juan. It better be a Frasier-like, classy date."

"Yes, ma'am." He saluted as he left the room.

"Don't call me that!" she yelled out to him. He didn't hear her. He had turned up Rihanna's song "S&M" and was singing and dancing along. "Kid needs less sugar in his diet," she said to herself.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

Reid was reading the newspaper and having his cup of coffee when Morgan came into the bull pen. "Hey, Reid, what's up?" Reid lowered the corners of his mouth and shook his head. "What, no political scandals, scientific findings, terrorist attacks… game scores?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, here," he said, snapping back to reality and handing Derek the sports section.

"Thanks. You okay, Reid?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking about something."

"Something? Or do you mean someone?"

"A little bit of both actually."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really. Can you believe some schools are taking cursive writing out of the curriculum?"

Morgan smirked and shook his head. He figured that Reid was thinking about Amanda but he would let it slide. He would talk when he couldn't apply logic to it. After all, he was dealing with a female of the species with little to no experience to draw from. He patted Reid's shoulder as he walked away to get a cup of coffee. Reid looked up, confused as to why Derek did that, but shook his head and went back to his paper.

That afternoon, Garcia came up to Reid's desk. "Okay, Boy Wonder, let's go. We're going out for lunch. I'm thinking Mexican. We haven't had that in a while."

"I really don't know…"

"Nope," she quickly cut him off. "I don't care. Kevin is out sick and I'm not eating by myself. We're going. Don't make me hurt you."

He put a sticky note on the paperwork, where he was leaving off. "Mexican it is then," he sighed as he got up. She smiled and crinkled her nose as they walked to the elevators. They were fairly quiet, until they were seated at the restaurant, a short distance away from the offices.

"So, Romeo, how is that little chickadee of yours?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Um, she's, she's fine. I guess. Why?"

"I like to keep tabs. Plus, it's been a while since any of us have seen her."

"It has not been that long."

"Well, it seems that way. It's been long enough for us not to know what's going on between you two… or hasn't been, for that matter."

"To tell you the truth, there hasn't been much going on. I know she's thinking of renovating the salon. She'll be in New York City the week of the fifth for that."

"Oh, I heard about that. Both the salon and Juan are on social networking sites and it's been mentioned on those. Come to think of it, Reed is on them, too."

"Her dog is on a social networking site?"

"Oh, yeah. It's a cutesy joke page, really." She searched on her phone to show him. When she found it, she gave him her phone. The last thing posted was a photo. Reed was lying on his bed in the salon wearing a sweater that perfectly matched the pillow and blanket Amanda had made for him. The caption read: 'I was missing my best friend, so my mom made me this sweater so I can match him!' Reid smirked, handing her phone back. "Is Amanda going to be back for Valentine's Day?" she asked, as she put her phone back in her purse.

Reid smiled at the waitress as she brought their food. "Yeah, she'll be home by then. She doesn't celebrate it, though. If that's what you're asking."

"Aw, honey. Were you planning something?"

"I was thinking about it. Once she told me, I put that out of mind."

"I think you still should. It would be a really cute surprise and I'm sure she'll love it. Maybe dinner and dancing, you guys seemed to get a kick out of that at the New Year's Eve party. Or, even if you just rent a movie and get takeout. It's the thought and I'm sure she'll be so happy you did something. It doesn't have to scream cliché Valentine's, ya know?"

"Maybe I will. I'm not sure yet. Honestly, I feel like I'm over my head and we haven't really gone out in a while. She's been having us read Chaucer to each other before we go to bed each night."

"Oh, that's just too cute," she cooed.

"I thought she was going to break up with me this morning because of it."

"What? Why? What happened?"

"She may have read the horror on my face when I woke up and I had realized that we had fallen asleep in my bed and we woke up holding each other, like we were stuffed bears for children. It wasn't pleasant."

Garcia looked at him, sadly, and shook her head. "You need to make that up to her, if you don't want to lose her. You probably made her feel unwanted or something. If there isn't a case you have to go out on, take her out on a date. You should still be in the wooing phase. Do something to make her feel like you want her around and that she's something special to you. There's not that much that can top spontaneous romance to a girl."

"I'm still not all that comfortable with all this. I do like her; I want to be with her every chance I get. It's just a lot."

"I get that. Everyone goes through that. You're just going through it later in life. At this age, with anyone, it's easy to overthink and overanalyze things. That can really mess you up. You just need to relax and enjoy each other's company. I know that's easier said than done. JJ and I always here for you, with whatever you need, too. Whether you want advice, the female perspective on things, anything really. The boys are not much help. As much as I adore that hunka hunka burning love, relationships have yet to be Derek's forte. Rossi's either, for that matter."

Reid smirked, as he finished the last of his meal. After paying, Garcia took him by the arm. "Thanks, Garcia."

"Don't mention it, my pet."

One of the last things he ever wanted to do was hurt Amanda's feelings. He knew that she most likely would not show it, if he ever did. He didn't know what to do. He decided to mull over Garcia's advice after he saw where they exactly stood, after their nightly reading that night. That is, if she even let him through the front door.


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

When Spencer came to her door, she answered wearing Washington Capitals lounge shorts and a form-fitted shirt that read 'String Theory Does Not Pass Occam's Razor.' He looked at her baffled. "What? Did I spill coffee on myself?"

"No, I was just wondering who the Washington Capitals were and what they had to do with… what is that? A golf club?"

She put her hand to her forehead and shook her head. "The Capitals are a professional hockey team."

"Oh. You like hockey?"

"Does Finland have a good educational system?"

"One of the best in the world actually."

"Okay, then. Well, there's your answer."

"I would be remiss if I didn't point out that as much as I like your shirt and apparent taking to physics, it's not exactly the truth. While parts of string theory cannot be tested as they are too small on the Planck scale, some can be and are. That's what the super colliders are made for."

"Oh, I know. I got the shirt because it was kind of funny to me. While there are parts of string theory that I'm all for, I'm just not exactly ready to give up the notion of free will." She shrugged as he noticed Reed was chasing his tail on her bed. He smirked as they made their way to the kitchen.

They grabbed a cup of coffee from the pot Amanda had just made, prior to their visit together. They continued talking about science, mainly focusing on physics, in the bedroom. Reed had calmed down when he saw Spencer. Reed even snuggled up next to him, with his head on Spencer's pillow.

Neither Amanda, nor Spencer, had seen the other smile so brightly since they had begun dating. Anytime either one of them went to refresh their coffee, the other followed; they were so engrossed in their conversation.

They hadn't noticed what time it was, until they were brewing the fourth pot of coffee. At that time, when they left the kitchen, the sun was starting to peak through the balcony doors. Amanda furrowed her brow and went over to look at the clock on the television set.

"Oh… Oh my. We've been talking for nearly eight hours. It's seven, already."

"Oh. I never even realized. Um, I should be going then. We're both going to be late for work, as it is."

"Most definitely. I'm so sorry, Spence."

He still felt a small knot in his chest, when she called him that. "It's both of our faults, really."

"Maybe another night we can get to the Chaucer."

He smiled at her, "Yes, absolutely. We'll do that very soon."

She walked him to the door, "It was fun though."

"Oh, definitely. I'm sure we could have used the break, too. It was nice just to converse again."

She took his hand in hers and patted it. "It's always a pleasure."

They kissed each other on the cheek goodbye. They had started to pull back when he cupped her jaw. They shared a nice, sweet lingering kiss. After their final goodbyes, they rushed to get ready for work.

On the drive to work, Spencer's thoughts kept going back to his night at Amanda's apartment. Garcia was right; she should feel special and wanted. He felt that she was and she should know that. She had opened her home and herself up to him so much. He wanted to do something for her. He just didn't know what, yet. He had a few days to plan, though. Whatever it was that he was going to do, he decided that it would take place that Monday. It would be her last day off before she left for New York and he was going to try to make it memorable.


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

The salon was already open when Amanda got there. Right away, Reed set to greeting the clients. Juan was bringing a client to his station from the shampoo bowl, while Amanda set up for her first client. "Amanda Maja, you owe me lunch."

"Yes, dear," she smiled.

"Oh, now this I will have to hear."

Amanda talked to Juan over sushi that afternoon. Juan rolled his eyes, "Holly is wrong. I love her, but she's wrong. This boy is not a 'Doogie.' He's more like that Sheldon from the "Big Bang Theory," but with better hair and a gun." Amanda chuckled at the comparison. "Anywhosil, I started planning the itinerary for our date with Doctor Boyfriend, the G-man."

"Okay… well, what are the plans so far?"

"Not telling you just yet. You need to learn to trust me, honeybunch."

"Even though I'm sure I could have planned this on my own, I do appreciate this, you know?"

"I know. I am incredibly awesome and handsome. I will, however, tell you that since Fredericksburg is pretty much lacking in culture, your date will be in DC. A friend of mine has tickets they can't use, so you'll be going. It's an hour or so away, but you two have gone together before so I don't care."

"Um, okay. I don't know what to say to that."

"What is there to say?" He looked at his manicured nails and sighed, "As usual, I'm going to be giving you the best night of your life."

"Oh, Herman Munster and a month old baby."

He chuckled, "You're silly."

"And you, my friend, are incorrigible."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," she smiled. He winked at her as they got up to leave.

At work, Spencer only had some paperwork to look over for court on Wednesday. When he got off, he sat at a diner for a couple hours, trying to flesh out some sort of plan. Most of the ideas did not work out well; this was either due to time constraints or the sheer fact that he didn't find them special enough for her. He was incredibly tired, so he went home to nap before his next visit with Amanda.

As she was getting ready to leave the salon, Amanda called Spencer. He could tell just how exhausted she was. He initially offered to hold off on the reading, so she could get right to bed, but she said that it was not necessary. She would much rather he read to her. She enjoyed their nightly visits and loved hearing his voice. There was no way that he could refuse her, so he said that he would read to her until she fell asleep. She told him that she would leave the door unlocked, and to just come right on in, but to give her a half hour to get home and change. It did not matter to her how tired she was, she wanted to see him.

When he walked into her apartment, he could hear the Chords song "Sh-boom" playing softly in her bedroom. "Amanda?" he called out, as he walked back to her room.

She was on top of her bed, in her pajamas, her face in the pillow. "Hi, Spence. The book is on the nightstand. If you would like, there's coffee in the kitchen."

"No, thanks, I'm fine. Are you sure about this? We can wait for another night to continue reading."

She turned her head to him and smiled, "Will you just sit down and relax already?"

He adjusted his glasses, picked up the book, and sat down next to her. She turned over onto her side to watch him read. She thought the facial expressions he had while reading were adorable; she wanted that to be the last thing she saw before drifting off to sleep.

Several times during the first paragraph, Reed had climbed onto Spencer's lap, trying to wriggle between the book and his torso; Spencer kept setting him down on the bed, between Amanda and himself. After the third failed attempt to move the dog, he let Reed onto his lap, with his plush iPhone, as he read.

By the time Spencer had finished reading what was supposed to be last night's reading, Amanda was quietly sleeping and Reed was snoring. The iPhone had dropped to the floor so he gently moved Reed off of him and put the toy within reach of his front paws. He marked the book and put it back on the nightstand. He then went over to Amanda's side of the bed and tucked her in, being careful not to wake her as he moved her legs underneath the covers. He whispered, "Goodnight," before turning to leave. He smiled to himself as he made his way out of the front door, making sure to lock it behind him.

When he got home, he kicked off his slippers and wrote his mother. After he sealed and put a stamp on the envelope, he wrapped himself in Amanda's blanket. He was watching the Science Channel's show ""Wonders of the Solar System," when he began to reminisce over the past few months. As he watched the northern lights over Norway, inspiration struck and he now knew what it was that he would do for her.


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

After preparing for court on Wednesday, where he was going to testify as an expert witness in federal court, Spencer began to plan and prepare for Amanda's day off. He didn't get home until ten o'clock that night, so he rushed to get ready for Amanda's visit.

He was just starting to button up his pajama top when there was a knock at his door. Not wanting to keep her waiting, he invited her in, only halfway buttoned. "Am I a little early?" she asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry. I got home late. I didn't have time to get coffee. I hope a cup of Earl Grey will suffice," he quickly said, walking to the kitchen, finishing buttoning up, embarrassed by the fact she caught him dressing. Reed ran after him, hoping that there would be treats.

Amanda sighed and followed the boys. "Earl Grey sounds terrific," she said, as he filled the kettle with water.

"So, um, would… would you, uh, like to… go out tomorrow?"

She leaned on the counter, resting her chin in her hand. "I would love to. In fact, I was going to ask you to go out with me on the fourth. Juan has been dying to plan a date for us and, I guess, a friend of his has tickets or something for that night that they can't use, so he got them for us."

"Should I be worried as to what the tickets are for? Why does he want to plan a date for us, anyway?"

"If it was something that would make you uneasy, Juan would probably be going himself and dragging me along. Trust me, I've been there. I think he believes we need to get out more and thinks we're boring."

"Well, if you say there's nothing to worry about, then okay. I'll go. I trust you." She smiled and kissed his cheek before going back to her post at the counter. He smiled at her as he got the mugs and tea bags. "So are the tickets for a midnight show or something? You usually work on the weekends."

"Juan's closing up the salon that night. I'm all yours, during your non-working, waking hours."

He handed her one of the cups of tea. Amanda smiled and winked at him, as she turned to leave the kitchen. Reed bolted out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. He tried jumping on the bed five times by the time Amanda got to him and helped.

This was the first night Spencer leaned himself towards her, somewhat closing the gap between them on the bed. As he lay there, Reed walked onto his chest, eventually putting his head on Spencer's shoulder. Spencer sighed, the best that he could with Reed on his sternum, knowing that there was nothing he could do; Reed would keep climbing on him.

Amanda's back was beginning to hurt by the last back, so she fully stretched out on the bed. Their shoulder's almost touched. Amanda could feel her pups' hot breath.

She sat back up to finish her tea, after closing the book for the night. Every so often, she looked over to the sleeping boys. As quietly as she could, she got up and put the mug in the kitchen sink and picked Reed up off of Spencer. She bent down and kissed Spencer on the forehead. He turned over onto his side, curling himself into the fetal position, smiling. She whispered into his ear, the same words that were whispered to her as a child. She turned the light off and left, so he could get his rest for the day ahead.


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N: I'd like to extend a very warm welcome back to mindspsychoaddict. Hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter 46**

Amanda was sitting at the café when Spencer called on his lunch break. He asked her to meet him in the lobby of their building at six o'clock. They would be cutting it close as it was. Since she didn't know what they were doing that night, or where they were going, she asked how she should dress. It took him a while to get the words out properly, but he basically said to dress up but also for the weather; he did not want a repeat of New Year's Eve.

"You guys are nauseating, but it's cute and I'm happy for you," Juan said, once they were off the phone. "I do, however, miss our pajama dates. Oh! Your birthday is coming up while we're gone. We should do something, just us, in New York and have a big party when we get back. A girl turns thirty, what, three, maybe four times?"

"I don't know if I want to do anything, really. Can we just buy shoes, watch "My So-Called Life," and share a bottle or two of wine?"

"That's boring. But, if that's what you want…"

"It is. Though, I might treat myself to Caps tickets."

Juan smiled, "I will make sure you have an amazing first thirtieth birthday. I have to go, though. Since you have the day off, that Penelope girl you went dancing with, booked an appointment with me. Why wasn't I invited dancing? I don't know."

"You were working and I barely know them, so I thought it would be impolite."

"Okay, honey, I'll see you tomorrow. I want the dish."

They gave each other a peck on the lips. "Don't be nosey and ask Penelope about Spencer or my relationship with him."

"Now, why would I go and do a silly thing like that for?" he smiled deviously at her, as he left. He was watching Reed for the night, so he got the dog off of the D-ring outside the café, and brought him back to the salon.

When Garcia came to the salon, Juan was almost ready for her; the receptionist said she would be called shortly. Reed ran up to her and pawed at her leg. She bent down and scratched and rubbed his belly until she was called. "Penelope! The woman who puts Grace Kelly to shame is up," Juan called from the reception desk.

Once he had her in his chair, he asked, "Okay, so you're friends with that Spencer guy that Amanda's been dating, right?" "Yeah. I'd like to think I'm Amanda's friend, too. Why? Did that boy do something I have to yell at him for? Or did he not do something that he should have?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Other than their dates tonight and on the fourth, they're yawn city. They just read to each other. Waste of night hours, if you ask me. Anywhosil, I was thinking about throwing a surprise birthday party for Amanda, when we come back from New York. I don't think that silly boy would come up with anything, so I wanted to. We're leaving on the fifth and her birthday is on the ninth. I don't know his number to invite him or the team and I really can't do much while we're gone, so I was wondering if you'd like to help out."

"That sounds like a terrific idea. I'd love to help, in any way I can. It'll be so much fun. Anything you need, I'm your gal."

Juan smiled and clapped. "I'm so excited! When you leave, I'll give you my info and tomorrow, after work, we'll start planning."


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

It was shortly before six o'clock that night. Amanda was waiting in the lobby, fixing the lapel of her double-breasted, leopard print coat. Her black faux alligator skin Liz Claiborne purse dangled at her elbow. Her coat hid a simple, little black dress, which came down to the top of her knees, covering the top of her fishnet thigh highs. She rocked back and forth in her Alexander McQueen hot pink suede ankle boots, with a five and one fourth inch heel, until Spencer walked through the front doors.

"Are you going to be warm enough?" he asked, after they said their hellos.

"I was sitting out on my balcony for a half hour, crocheting, before I came down here. I'll be fine."

He nodded, "Okay. I left the car running so we should get going." They walked to the car and when they got close to the car, Spencer ran to hold the door open for her. She thanked him and smiled as she got in.

They shared a comfortable silence for a good portion of the drive. "I, uh, really hope you enjoy tonight. It's… it's the first date I ever planned."

"I'm sure it will be wonderful. Don't worry about it. You need to relax and have fun, too. Just because we're dating, doesn't mean I expect you to throw a lasso around the moon and pull it down for me."

"That's a very odd metaphor."

"Odd, indeed. Especially considering "Miracle on 34th Street" takes place in New York City. Common sense would say that he's not any good at lassoing. But it was a very sweet thought, in a sweet scene, in a very good movie." They entered the city limits of the District of Columbia. "DC is very beautiful at night."

Spencer pursed his lips and nodded. He wanted to say that the lights could not match the sparkle in her eyes, that the city at night could never be as beautiful as she was to him. The words never left his mouth. They fell back into silence, until they got to the Kennedy Center.

Spencer helped Amanda out of the car, once he had parked. "I hope you like the theater. I got us tickets to see "Uncle Vanya." If not, we can do something else while we're in the city. I probably should have asked if you did beforehand. I did plan for something else afterwards, but that's back in Fredericksburg. The timing of that can always be moved up, though," he rambled on, clearly nervous about this date.

Amanda smiled and put her hand on his cheek. "I've always enjoyed plays and musicals. I will love this because I'm seeing a Chekhov production with you. It's that last part that matters to me. It means the world to me. You're going to worry that pretty little head right off. As for whatever it is you have planned for later… you know, you really don't have to spoil me like this."

He took her hand from his cheek and gave it a little squeeze. "You're special to me. I want to do this for you." They continued to hold hands as they walked into the theater and to their seats. He had gotten them box seats, the best he could do with what was available at the time.

She held his arm tightly as they walked out of the theater when the play was over. "So, what did you think of the production?" he asked, smiling at her.

"It was wonderful. Depressing, but wonderful."

Once again he opened the car door for her. When he turned the engine, he looked at his watch. "I didn't realize it was going to be this late. It will almost be eleven o'clock when we get home. I hope I'm not keeping you up."

"I'm going to be thirty in a few days. I set my own bedtime. Juan's opening the salon in the morning. Since I don't have an appointment until after lunch and we were going out tonight, he insisted he opened. I should be the one asking you that. You're the one who has to drive to Quantico."

"Oh, I'll be fine. I'm studying a case and brushing up on the latest research for a court testimony on Wednesday. My caseload has dramatically dropped this week."

They stopped at an all-night drive-thru to get a cup of coffee before they got onto the interstate. The roads were pretty empty as they drove home, making it seem like they were the only people around for miles. "I can't think of anything better in this world than a cup of coffee and a little conversation with amazing company." Amanda smiled at him.

"Not one thing in this whole world?"

She paused to think for a moment, looking towards the dark night sky and the streetlights that lit their way home. "Maybe… a cup of coffee and a little conversation with amazing company while traveling around to see Halloween and Christmas decorations. I haven't done that since I was a little girl."

"If you enjoyed it so much, why haven't you?"

"I either had work or no one to go with me. Even growing up, nobody could or wanted to go with me."

"I know that feeling well." She looked over to him and softly patted his shoulder.

Shortly thereafter, they got back to their apartment building. As they walked into the lobby, Amanda asked, "So, Spence, what is it that we are doing next?"

"Just be patient and follow me," he said, smiling, as he began to walk up the stairs.

She smiled and sighed, "Anything you say, dear.


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

They walked up to the roof. Amanda wrapped her arms tightly around herself and took in the beautiful view. He had hidden away a few things before work that day. He set a blanket down for them and began playing the CD 'Romantic Adiagos,' disc one. He brought over two glasses of red wine, giving her one.

"Now this is quite my style. There's this Swedish saying… I believe it goes, 'Borta bra men hemma bäst.' I could be wrong, though. Basically, it means 'Away is good but at home is best.' You're just too sweet, Spencer."

He smiled and took a sip of his wine. His nerves took over again and he stared at his shoes. "Would you like to sit down?" he asked. She took his hand and they sat on the blanket he so carefully laid out.

After a few moments, and a few sips of wine, Amanda spoke up. "Would you look at those stars? Beautiful, aren't they? Same stars that our grandparents saw, same stars that our grandchildren will see. It's quite poetic."

Spencer took out his phone and within seconds was pointing it to the sky. Amanda looked at him confused. He pointed to a cluster of stars. "That should be Ursa Major, so I'm looking for Polaris. It's just not coming up on this application." He kept moving the phone around trying to find the star on it. They got up so it would be easier to move around. Amanda stood behind him, her hands on his shoulders, as they turned around in circles. "This keeps telling me that everywhere we look is Spica. That can't be right."

"That is weird," Amanda said, sitting back down. "Which one is Spica?"

Spencer sat down next to her and put his glass down. He scooted himself closer to her. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her in, even closer. He pointed upwards, to a single bright point in the dark sky. "That's Spica, a binary star, there. It's the fifteenth brightest star in the night sky and is two hundred and sixty light years away."

She placed her hand on his thigh and smiled at him. "It's incredibly beautiful."

"For a massive, laminating ball of plasma, yeah, I guess it is."

"Not just the star, you silly mongoose. This. They play, the stars, the music… us sitting together here like this."

They looked into each other's eyes, smiling. After a few heart pounding moments, they began to kiss. They felt as if they were the only two people in the world during that kiss. It seemed like it lasted for days, though it only just a few seconds.

When they broke apart, Spencer set her glass down and took her hands in his. "Amanda, may I have this dance?" He had a moony look in his eyes.

"It would be an honor."

They held each other closely as they swayed together to Mahler's "Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor.' Being in his arms like she was, during that particular piece, took Amanda's breath away. She felt so calm and at peace, she rested her head on his shoulder.

Ten minutes later, the song, and subsequently, the CD was over. Neither of them had noticed; they kept on swaying, holding each other close. After a few more minutes had passed, Amanda lifted her head and kissed his cheek. He looked over to her and smiled, "What was that for?"

"For being you. For doing this."

He smiled at her and slowly backed away from her. "I thought there wasn't enough time for this but, I want to do this anyway. Close your eyes."

Amanda smiled and sat back down on the blanket. She grabbed her cup and closed her eyes. She heard him fumbling with something and having a hard time with whatever it was that he was doing. A couple minutes later, he let her open her eyes. He was refreshing her glass when she noticed what he had done. There was a small basket in front of them with several types of Swedish cookies inside. He had set up a screen and a projector that was playing the opening credits to "His Girl Friday."

"You mentioned once that you were a fan of Cary Grant."

"I am. This is one of my top five comedy movies of all time."

"That's a bold statement."

"It's a true statement," she smiled and bit into a Havrekaka.

"I guess I got us a good movie then."

"You got us the perfect movie." She took his hand in hers. This was the first time Spencer had seen the movie. He actually quite liked it and enjoyed the humor of the 1940 screwball comedy. He found that the best part was, watching it in the moonlight, with Amanda.

Near the end of the movie, Amanda leaned into Spencer, resting her head on his shoulder. He tried not to pay attention to this, forcing his eyes to stay glued to the screen. Once the credits started to roll, Amanda started to tell him about the story behind the movie. That the actors were weary of the faced-paced, overlapping dialogue, and so forth. They then went on to talk about their favorite black and white films and why they loved them so much.

Before they knew it, they sun was starting to rise. They decided to stay up and watch it for a while. They only left the rooftop when it was time to start getting ready to go to work. Spencer walked Amanda to her door, after they had brought everything down from the roof to his apartment.

"I had an amazing time, Spence."

"I'm glad. I did, too." He paused for a moment before adding, "You deserve it." He smiled, but this was the most difficult portion of the date in his eyes… the goodbye.

Amanda rolled her eyes, "No I don't, but thank you. It was a beautiful night and I'm just happy that I spent it with you."

His smiled widened, but he couldn't think of anything to say to that. "Well, um… I guess I should be getting back then. I'll talk to you tonight."

Amanda smiled and looked him in the eyes. She took his hands in hers and kissed him softly and ever so sweetly. He kissed her back and with passion and vigor. She was caught so by surprised that she backed into her door, not for a moment breaking the kiss. Afterwards, she smiled and exhaled deeply. "I'll, um…" Spencer was flustered and embarrassed by his own actions that he didn't know how to finish that sentence at that time. He backed away, slightly waving, before rushing back upstairs.

Amanda was left at her door, not knowing how exactly to react. She shook it off and whispered 'wow' to herself, before walking back into her apartment.


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

It was Tuesday night when Garcia called Juan. Though planning a time and day to meet so that they could get together to start planning Amanda's thirtieth birthday only took about 5 minutes, they stayed on the phone together for just over three hours. In those hours, their conversation was light and fluffy. The main topics of their conversation were movies, music, men and fashion.

Juan left the salon early on Wednesday to meet with Penelope at Potomac Mills mall. She was already waiting for him at the Starbucks. When she saw him she instantly thought he looked like a combination of Adam Lambert and celebrity photographer Mike Ruiz.

He came up to her and they hugged their hellos. When they sat down, they went straight to the business at hand. "So, I was thinking of renting a hall or something since Amanda's apartment is way too small and she'd throw a hissy fit if we had the party at the salon."

"I don't doubt she would. It bothers me if people even so much as cough around my computers. Anyway, I only met Amanda a couple of times, but I could see her digging a retro theme. Maybe classic Hollywood or '50s sock hop or the 80s or 90s or something."

"I could see her loving that. Especially if we mix it all in together and add some Japanese kawaii stuff, like Hello Kitty. Maybe we could go roller skating, surrounded by posters of from Tiger Beat, like Rider Strong or Jason Priestly."

"Ohh, Jason Priestly. Now that takes me back. I was more of a Luke Perry girl, though. I could make cupcakes. If it's not too expensive, maybe we could get a photo booth, too. Those are always fun."

"Yeah, they are. See, now this is where I need the help. The ideas I'm good at, it's the follow-through that I'm not so much."

"And that is why you have the great and powerful Penelope Garcia at your service."

"Her friend, Holly, and her husband are coming in for it, too. The first thirtieth is a big one. Now… we're at a mall. Why aren't we shopping?"

"Not a clue. Let's boogie."

Juan grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into the Coach store. Her eyes widened and sparkled. "Oohh, pretty," she beamed. Her smile melted, "I wish I could afford to get half of this store."

Juan shoved a pair of heels into her hand. "Try those on. They'll look fierce on you." She studied the shoes and then quickly went to find an associate. While she was slipping the shoes on, Juan dropped a pink purse next to her. "You're getting that, too. It just screams Penelope Garcia."

"I don't have the cash to get them, though." She looked in the mirror with a sad puppy dog look in her eyes.

"Every girl deserves at least one designer piece in her wardrobe. Even if that piece is from an outlet store. Since you're helping out while I'm gone… don't say I never did anything for you." Juan said, grabbing the box and purse from her.

Garcia looked at him as if he was nuts. "What?"

"You deserve a treat. Don't look at me like I have lobsters coming out of my ears. You just better keep me in the loop on what you hear about those Bobbsey twins of ours. I do love my juicy gossip."

"Thank you, Juan. That's really too sweet of you."

"I can spare a hundred or two. All my money really ever goes to Amanda or myself. But, I am sweet, amazing, wonderful, sexy, smart, and just downright outstanding in every way." He smiled at her and paid for her items, along with a couple pairs of sunglasses for himself.

Penelope bought Orange Julius drinks as they walked around the mall. "My little brainiac doesn't actually talk about his relationship much. I kinda worry. I like them together but both have been pretty much stagnant in the whole relationship department up until they met."

Juan linked his arm with hers. "And that is why you have me. I like them as a couple, too. Cher knows that they are good together and needed a little lovin' in their lives. I don't let Amanda keep quiet about her personal life. Never have. The only thing I don't have all the details on is their date on Monday that he planned. We've been too busy to talk about it."

He went on to update her on all that he knew, including his plans on the date that he was planning for them. It wasn't that he wanted to push them together faster than they should, but he worried that they would fall into a hum-drum routine. He felt that being part of a relationship is to experience something new and exciting, to share and learn with each other. Friends are there to help and support one in their lives, including the romantic part.

Their arms were still linked as they walked out to the parking lot and they sang duet to "The Shoop Shoop Song." They kissed each other's cheek as they said goodbye and promised to get in touch soon.


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**

Since the night that Spencer had taken Amanda out on their date, they had fallen back into their routine of reading each other to bed. Spencer still felt out of sorts about falling asleep next to her. They, however, have gotten more comfortable lying next to each other. While Amanda read, Spencer played fetch with Reed until the puppy got tired. Once Reed began to rest, Spencer watched Amanda's face as she read; the gap between them grew smaller than before. On the nights he read, Amanda rested her head on his shoulder.

Juan and Amanda argued over her outfit for the night of her date. Looking at the outfit that Juan had picked out, Amanda said that it was too skimpy and she 'might as well wear two Band-Aids and a cork.' After Juan left, she decided she didn't care what he thought and ended up wearing a sensible but very cute pant suit.

Spencer had finished his court testimony the morning of their date; Juan had put Amanda on the train to meet Spencer in DC around noon. They were to meet at the arboretum. He was standing outside of the grounds when she walked up.

"Thanks for coming, Spence."

"Thanks? Why are you thanking me?"

"Well, you could have said no and not come."

"Yes I did. You asked me to."

"Just because I asked doesn't mean anything."

"It means something to me. It means a lot, actually. You wanted me to come, so I came. Whether or not it was originally your idea or not is irrelevant. Plus, I wanted to see you." He smirked and took her hand. "Shall we?"

""Let's. I've actually never been here. I've wanted to come and see the Asian Garden since I moved here though."

He held the door to the Administration Building for her. "We can do that, then. Would you rather take a guided tour or just walk through?"

"Spence, you are a guided tour. That said, we're here in wintertime and there are nine miles of walking paths in this arboretum. I don't know about you, but I'd like to walk and come back eventually, in spring, to see the areas missed this time."

"Nine miles would be a bit too much to walk. Well… we'll see what we can do, making it a point to see the Asian plant life. Why don't we go see the Moon Gate in the Chinese Pavilion first? I think you'd really like that. Then, maybe, if it's still in bloom, we can go through the Japanese Stroll Garden." He cupped her hands in his as they walked through the building and out into the gardens.

Just as Amanda had figured, Spencer took over the tour guide role. He didn't know where everything was but, he told her every Latin term, what months the plant is in bloom, what region it's from, and any other information he had on the specific plant. Amanda listened to him, as she always did, finding him cuter than a button when he talked as he was. She only gave him half of her attention, though; she was too riveted by the beauty of landscape.

After about a half hour into their stroll, they sat down on a bench in a Chinese pagoda. "So, I hope you don't mind that we take your car. Juan dropped me off at the train station so he has my car and Reed for the night."

"No that's fine. I guess that means we'll be spending even more time together tonight." He quickly smiled and looked back out into the garden.

Amanda chuckled at his sweetness, "I guess so. Come Sunday, It'll be my turn to be away for the week on business."

"You'll be gone for your birthday."

"That I will. I'm not too big on birthdays, though. My friends seem to like celebrating them more than I do. I'm happy with a bottle of wine or a pot of Harry & David coffee while watching TV and movies that I grew up with, after I get off of work. Last year, Juan and I watched the entire first season of 'Ren & Stimpy.' I was out light a light by eleven o'clock."

"Sounds more exciting than any of my birthdays."

"Then we'll rectify that this year. I can't see you watching 'Ren & Stimpy' but you have missed out on a lot of classics, I'm sure."

He gave her a half-smile before leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees. She crossed her legs and rubbed his back with one hand. They sat in silence, looking out into the scenery for a while. A few minutes had gone by when Spencer stood up. "Why don't we finish up this tour?" He extended his hand to her, to help her up, which she gladly accepted. They stayed at the arboretum for a few hours, until they had decided to go for an early dinner.

They went to a quaint, intimate Indian restaurant for dinner. While they were eating, Spencer told Amanda stories of some of the cases he had worked in the DC area, per her request. She thought that he would comfortable talk about his cases as he didn't seem all that comfortable in the arboretum outside of stating facts about the plants. Though he knew she had been interested in the field in high school, he was still a little surprised that she would want to hear the disturbing details over dinner. She was completely unfazed by the gruesomeness of some of the details.

After a couple stories, he asked her what got her interested in such a field. She answered that she had been watching incredibly gory horror movies since the age of three, so she knew she could handle it. That after watching "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" and first hearing about the mob war in Chicago during Prohibition, she wanted to learn more about real life infamous killers. She had a soft spot for the story of John Wayne Gacy, Jr. due to the fact that she grew up near the area. She also collected as many books and movies she could about Ed Gein, Alfred Packer and Albert Fish. She didn't know why, but the stories of these men captivated her. It didn't help that three classic horror movies were loosely based on 'the Butcher of Plainfield.'

Throughout the rest of dinner and all the way to the next stop of their date, they had a passionate discussion on the psychology and sociology of criminals, focusing mainly on serial killers. When they were talking about the relationship serial killers usually had with their mothers, Amanda made a joke about Edmund Kemper and his garbage disposal. It was not a great joke, by any means, but she thought it was both terrible and funny. Spencer, knowing what had happened and seeing Amanda trying to hide her soft giggling, made him start to chuckle, as well.

There was still a few hours before the show that Juan had given them tickets for, so they decided to go to the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden and Ice Rink. They sat in the parking lot for almost ten minutes, listening to "Violin Romance No. 1 in G" by Beethoven. About two minutes into the song, Amanda scooted herself closer to Spencer. She linked her arm with his and rested her head on his shoulder. He intertwined his fingers with hers, studying her nails that were painted to look like gingham, as he rubbed her palm with his thumb.

They both had a long day up that point, so the break was nice. There was still much that they had to do, so they were enjoying the moment of peace that they had. This was only made better by the fact that they were doing so together. Neither one could remember a time that they were as relaxed as they were when in each other's company, outside of moments before they slept.

When the song was over, Spencer kissed the top of her head and turned the car off. She smiled at him and put her hand to his cheek before they exited the car and made their way inside.


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51**

Once they were inside, Amanda made a beeline to the abstract sculptures; they were her favorite. Spencer could barely make heads or tails of a large portion of the sculptures. At every piece that they stopped to look at, Spencer stared at it curiously, then read out loud the paragraph explaining the sculpture in the pamphlet he was given.

After the third time this happened, Amanda took the pamphlet and put her finger to his mouth, quieting him. She put the pamphlet in her purse and took his hand. She leaned in and whispered, "Spence, I love when you go all 'fact man,' but this is abstract art. There's no real right or wrong to a lot of it. Everybody views it different. That's the beauty in it. One person can see Pollock's Enchanted Forest and see a mess. Others may see a fairy tale. Some people see a fun time with chocolate. Come with me. I have a better idea." She winked at him and began to walk away.

Spencer sighed and thought, 'Again she walks away from me.' He shook his head and followed with his hands stuck in his pocket. He found her at a counter. "What's going on?"

"We're going to ice skate out front, while it's still a rink and not a fountain," she beamed.

"Ice skating?"

"Yeah. It'll be fun. Don't worry and tell the man behind the counter your shoe size."

Spencer looked utterly confused as he obliged. He turned back to Amanda and said, "I've never ice skated before."

"I told you we'd be experiencing new things together. You just have more new to experience than I do." She put the money on the counter for the rentals and took her skates over to a bench to lace up. Spencer grabbed his skates and went over to her.

"Just… don't laugh at me."

"I won't. There was a time I was skating for the first time, too, ya know? Granted, I was maybe five years old. I'll help you out. We won't be out there too long." She stood up and extended her hands to him, to help him stand and walk. "Trust me."

He did trust her, but he was still nervous. He was nervous that he'd look like a fool in front of her, that he would fall, that her would fall and bring her down with him, and that one or both of them would get hurt. He took her hands and carefully stood up. He gripped her hands tightly as they stepped out onto the ice. He wobbled but with her help and instructions, he didn't fall.

They had only taken a few steps when a woman called out, "Spencer? Spencer Reid? Is that you?" Spencer looked up in curiosity. The instant he stood straight up, the woman's arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Spencer and Amanda let go of each other's hands. The woman went on saying, "I thought that was you! It's been too long. I've missed you. I can't believe I come to DC to do this charity event and here you are. That's so amazing." She grabbed his face and planted a long hard kiss on him before pulling him back into a hug. Amanda crossed her arms and looked away, angry. She shook it off, but felt it was the best option to just let them be and leave. So, with a sigh, she skated off of the ice and went to gather her things.

Spencer kept looking back to Amanda but the woman wouldn't let go of the hug so that he could go after her. He had been so shocked by this random meeting that he had been unable to speak for the short few minutes they had been on the ice.

By the time he broke free and got his shoes on, Amanda was nowhere in sight. The woman had come back up to Spencer, "I'm sorry that I didn't get to introduce myself to your sister. But, um, here's my number at the hotel. I'll be in town for a few days so call me and maybe we can get together soon."

Spencer took the number but quickly responded with, "I have to go." He then ran off, leaving the woman behind, shocked and confused. He looked all around the garden for Amanda, which was to no avail. He tried calling her, but still no luck. At that point, he ran out to his car to look for her.

He found her at as she was walking into a tea house. She was sitting at a small table when he came in. He pulled up a chair and sat across from her. "I'm not in the mood to hear it right now, Spencer. I just want to sit here with my tea, read the paper, go to see the show, and then go home. If you still want to go, then fine. Doesn't mean that I'm ready to talk about it or hear anything you have to say."

All he could do was sit there and nod as she opened up the business section. She knew that she needed time to calm down before she would be ready to talk about what had just happened.

After she had finished her tea, they walked back to his car. He had wanted to take her hand, but stuffed his hands into his pocket until they had reached the car. He did, however, open the door for her. She thanked him and told him where they were going. They stayed silent for the drive.

They saw the National Symphony Orchestra playing Strauss and Beethoven. During both numbers, they focused more on the symphony than each other. Any moment that they did not have the orchestra to distract them, there was an uncomfortable, awkward silence between them. Amanda looked as if she was going to cry during the Beethoven piece. Her eyes had welled up, but the tears never came.

It was on the way home when Amanda spoke up, saying that she was not angry at him, but the other woman and the situation. She was, however, disappointed that he did not speak up to the woman and let her hug and kiss him like she had. He sincerely apologized and stated that it was a surprised to him as well. He had only wanted her last night before she left for New York to be wonderful. She said that she knew this, and that was why she was not mad at him. Though that did not mean she was happy.

He walked her to her door. She apologized for her reaction and said she would miss him while away. He said that he would miss her as well, and pulled her into a tight hug. He thought the safest best was to not tell her who the woman was or that she wanted to meet him within the next few days. Amanda kissed his cheek and he wished her well on the trip. She sighed and gave him a long, sweet, and passionate kiss before she went inside.


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52**

Amanda and Juan were staying at the home of some friends while in New York. Juan drove them, as Amanda crocheted the almost six hours they were in the car. It was noon by the time they got to the home of their good friends. Juan got their bags as Amanda took Reed to go to the bathroom.

Their host for the afternoon was Brian, an attractive man in his early forties. He was the same man that the team saw Amanda with on the night they were introduced to her. He kissed them on the cheek as they entered and showed them to their room in the two bedroom and condo. Reed was off exploring, his toy in his mouth.

"You were awfully quiet on the trip. How did your date with Dr. Boyfriend go?" Juan asked, while they were unpacking.

"I'd rather not talk about that right now."

"That bad? What did you two do to botch it up? I planned a great date."

"Don't be blaming me, I didn't do anything. Neither did he. That was part of the problem. Can we talk about this later? I want to have lunch and then take a nap."

Juan rolled his eyes but let her have her way. He was hungry and tired as well, and Brian would be waiting for them. When they were finished unpacking, they went to find Brian. He was sitting on the living room floor playing with Reed, when they found him. They left some food and water out for Reed as they all headed out to lunch.

Amanda seemed out of it as the dined. She kept replaying the date in her head; thinking about what was said and done, what was not, and what should have been. She was beginning to think that it was her fault, as she was the one that had dragged him out to the rink in the first place. The fact that she was spacing out didn't go unnoticed by Brian and Juan. She did not even notice that they were whispering to each other about her, as she slowly picked at her lunch.

Reed was waiting by the door for them when they returned. He followed Amanda and Juan as they got ready for their nap. They were folding down the bedspread when Juan looked over at Amanda's sullen face and sighed. "I feel like this is going to be a doozy of a story we're going to hear," he said to Reed as he picked up the dog and crawled into bed.

Juan sat Reed down on the bed and got comfortable. He looked over to his best friend who was looking ever so sad, like a child who had lost its way, and he pushed her hair away from her face. He scooted himself closer to her and put his arm around her. He was angry and upset with Spencer and did not even know why. He pulled her in as close as he could as they drifted off to sleep.

Brian made them coffee for after their nap. The three of them sat around the living room as Amanda explained what happened that night with Spencer. Brian and Juan looked at her wide-eyed as she finished her story of their date and the mystery woman.

"I hope you have a better part of that bimbo's face underneath your fingernails," Juan said after mumbling Spanish curse words under his breath.

"I've never been in a fight and I wasn't about to start with her. She isn't worth my time or energy."

"I would have at least chewed Spencer out. I don't care who you are, that was just downright rude," Brian shook his head.

"He did apologize; I will give that to him. I'm really not mad at him. I'm more upset with her and the situation. I should have never dragged him out to the rink," Amanda sighed, completely upset with herself.

"Now, don't go blaming yourself. There was absolutely no way you could have known. If I was you, I'd send him a naughty text or something and the minute I got home I'd start with the heavy kisses and then move the party for a little more fun. He wouldn't know what hit him, but he'd be really happy and would definitely, totally not be thinking about some skank," Juan said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

Brian chuckled and turned to Amanda. He pointed to Juan and said out of the corner of his mouth, "Talk about a skank." He then sweetly smiled at Juan, who fluttered his eyelashes. This got a meek smile out of Amanda.

"I'm not going to do that. But, thank you for the visuals," she said. Juan shrugged before taking a sip of his coffee.

"We'll go out shopping tomorrow. That should clear your head. I'm sure everything will work out just fine. Don't worry that pretty little head off, you'll get wrinkles. Why don't the two of you get out of your jammies? We'll take Reed out for a walk, get some dinner and then go to the bar. Anthony won't be home until early morning, since he's at the club tonight, so he'll join us tomorrow," Brian said patting her knee, trying to comfort his dear friend. She kissed his cheek as they got up to get ready for the crazy night ahead of them.

The next day after lunch Brian, Anthony, Juan, and Amanda all went shopping. After chatting with the boys and going over everything a thousand times over in her head, she decided to completely put the incident behind her. She trusted Spencer and could not wait to get back home to see him. She still thought he had handled the situation wrong, and that she had as well. She was ready to forget the whole thing and was really starting to miss him. She could not help but smile when she thought of him: the crinkle in his forehead as he read to her, the passion in his eyes and voice as she rambled off facts and statistics on some random subject, his perfectly messy hair, the softness of his lips, and the warmth of his hands… just everything about him. She knew that all would be well and that she could very easily fall head over heels for him.

Amanda had only been gone for a couple of days and Reid had fallen back into the routine he had perfected before he had met her. The team, though, had noticed that he seemed a bit downtrodden and that he missed her. When this was brought up to him, he decided to do something to get his mind off of her being gone. He did truly miss her, he just did not realize just how painfully obvious it was to everyone else.

That day after work, he made the trip down to Washington, DC. It was nearly seven o'clock by the time he had arrived to his destination. He sat in his car, tapping the steering wheel and thinking for a few minutes before getting out. He walked through the parking garage and into the building before making a phone call.

As he went up several floors he pursed his lips nervously. He was not exactly sure why he was nervous, he thought this was the right and best thing to do. He stopped in front of a door and knocked. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to muster the courage he would need when the door finally opened.


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**

The moment that Spencer walked into the room, the woman's arms flung around his neck. He meekly smiled before pulling the arms from him. His eyes darted across the room, trying not to make any contact, as he went to the other side of the room to the small table and chairs. She stood at the open door somewhat shocked as he sat down.

"Uh, hi. I, um, came by since I had to leave in such a rush the other day. I wanted to apologize for that," Spencer said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh, okay," she said slowly as she closed the door behind her and heading to the bathroom. "I hope you don't mind, I have to finish getting ready for tonight." She didn't wait for an answer; she went into the bathroom, not closing the door, and started applying her makeup. She yelled to him, "There really was no need to apologize. You're sister or whoever that girl was that you were with, just ran out. I would have apologized to her if I could have; I think I might have scared her with my overzealousness. I couldn't help it, I was happy and excited to see you again."

"Um, yeah about that… she's, um, she's my girlfriend."

She poked her head out of the doorway, looking at him wide-eyed, "You have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah. Her name is Amanda. We, uh, met in the beginning of November. We officially became a couple three weeks ago today."

Her jaw dropped and she then put her hand over her mouth. "Oh… I'm so sorry I had no idea."

He knitted his eyebrows. "There really was no way for you to know. You never gave me the chance to tell you."

She pursed her lips together before dropping the corners of her mouth then mouthing the word 'oops.' She turned and went back to her makeup application. After about a minute she spoke up. "Is she mad that you came to see me? I know I would be."

"She doesn't know. She's in New York on business with an employee. She wants to expand her salon in Fredericksburg. They'll be back on Saturday. Tomorrow is her birthday."

"You don't even get to see her on her birthday?"

"No. I didn't see her for Christmas, either. We did, however, see each other on New Year's Eve and since we live in the same building we pretty much see each other every day. Penelope Garcia, our tech analyst, and Juan, her friend and employee, are planning a surprise party for her when they get back."

"That's cute. She sounds pretty special to you."

"I guess so. We haven't known each other that long, really."

She sighed and threw her eyeliner back into her makeup bag. She leaned on the doorframe with a smile and crossed her arms. "I think she is. You really didn't even say hello to me, or ask how I was, or what charity event I'm in town for. All you've done was talk about her. I'm not saying anything is wrong with that; I think it's sweet that you like her so much. I wish it were me, but apparently I missed that boat. I am glad to see you happy, though."

He smiled out of the corner of his mouth. "Thanks. I guess I am happy. We, uh, we haven't really talked since that incident at the ice rink. I don't like seeing her upset like that."

"That's a good thing," she said as she walked over to him. She sat across the table from him and rested her forearms on it. "It means you care about her."

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, periodically looking in the other's direction, until she spoke up again. "Would you like to get some dinner? I'm starving and they only serve terrible hors d'oeuvres at charity events."

"Um… yeah, sure."

As they walked down to the garage to his car, Spencer kept his eyes glued to the floor. He opened the car door for her, "I didn't come here to talk about Amanda. I did want to see how you're doing." She quickly got in checked her lip gloss in the pocket mirror she kept in her purse.

While they were on the way to the restaurant she had suggested, she told him of the things that had happened since the last time they saw each other. It, for some reason, slightly bothered him when she told him of the men she had dated.

After they ordered and got their drinks, he looked over to her and said, "You look nice tonight." He took at pause then quickly added, "Not that you don't look nice on any other night. I mean, you look particularly nice tonight."

She softly laughed. "You still like me don't you, Spencer?" She raised her eyebrow and smiled at him.

"I, um… what?" Her laugh got slightly louder. She reached across the table and put her hand on his. Nervously, he pulled back and ran his fingers through his hair. After a few awkward minutes, they were brought their dinners.

To break the silence, Spencer tried to talk to her about the sculptures at the garden where they had last seen each other. She interrupted him after three minutes. She told him she was only there to ice skate, that she was not interested in any of the art. She found it pretty but boring and did not care to know about the meaning or the artists. She enjoyed being with him and thought that the fact he was as smart as he is was quite attractive, but she didn't care about the sculptures. That was why she was skating and not looking at the art work. He looked back down to his meal, disappointedly, thinking that Amanda would never say such a thing and how much he appreciated that fact.

He took her back to her room after dinner, where she invited him to be her escort to the event later that night. He decline, citing that he had work in the morning. She suggested that he could just stay in her room that night, if he went to the event. He fumbled over the words, declining again. He began thinking about how upset Amanda had been and he began to feel guilty about coming back. He smiled and said goodbye. He quickly turned heel and walked away before she could say anything.

The streets were pretty empty on his drive home. He listened to the oldies station on the radio as he thought back to what had transpired. When he got home he wrote his mother before showering and changing into his pajamas. The next night of reading, if there was to be one, would be her turn. He wanted to hear her voice but he knew that she would be out or asleep. He listened to the saved voicemail she had left him of the note he had left in the Chekhov book two times. That night Spencer slept on the pillow and under the blanket that Amanda had made for him.


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54**

As the midnight bell in New York, so did Amanda's phone. Every year on their birthdays, the instant midnight strikes in the birthday girls' time zone, the other one calls. Since they go all out for each other's Christmas gifts, and sporadically send 'just because' gifts, they don't buy each other anything for birthdays. Little did Amanda know, during her birthday call that year, Holly was packing for Virginia.

Amanda and all of the boys were at the burlesque show, including Reed, so she took the call in Anthony and Brian's office. Holly didn't even say hello to her friend when she answered the phone. She just began singing 'Happy Birthday To You.' They talked for an hour, mostly about Jordan and their new business endeavors, when Anthony came in to tell her the show was about to start.

They left the theater at 6 o'clock that morning, only to go out to breakfast. They had dropped Reed off at home first, before heading out for a hearty meal. Though they were all dead tired, the atmosphere was quite jovial. The four of them walked arm in arm back to the condo. "I just love a good 'Sex and the City' moment," Juan sighed.

"Whatever you say, Samantha," Brian rolled his eyes.

Juan was about to say something when a window mannequin caught his eye. Amanda was so tired that she was resting on Anthony's shoulder. They all thought it would be best if she went back to the condo to sleep while they shopped. Anthony put her in the cab, told the driver where to take her, gave her the keys, and then went inside the store where Brian and Juan were waiting.

When they got back to the condo, Amanda was sleeping, curled up with Reed. After updating his and Reed's social networking pages, Juan joined them. Once they were all awake, Anthony and Brian ordered Chinese food and gathering movies to watch. The four of them stayed in their pajamas.

"Now, this is the kind of birthday I like to have: take out, jammies, facial masks, and Molly Ringwald, all with some of the best friends a girl could ask for," Amanda smiled as she plopped down on the couch.

"Aw, we love you too, honey. It would have been nice if your boyfriend was here, though. I know you two weren't on the best of terms when you left, but it is your birthday and between what you and Juan told us, I think you both seriously like each other too much to let some girl who isn't even close to in the picture come between you," Anthony said handing her a drink and sitting down on the couch next to her. Brian and Juan were in the kitchen chatting about their new ideas for their respective businesses as well as fashion.

"I'm here on business, not to celebrate my birthday. Honestly, I don't care that it is my birthday. It's just another day to me."

"Oh, I know. But, it is your birthday so I think it would have been nice to at least get a call from him. Anytime Brian and I are away from each other like that, we try to call as often as possible and there was never an excuse not to call on important days; even if that call didn't take a full minute."

"Well, to be fair, you two are a bit slightly co-dependent. He may be out on a case, we don't know. My family hasn't even called me, so it's not a worry."

"Why hasn't your mom even called?"

"She knows how busy I usually am. She may not even be in a place that gets cell phone reception. She and my step-dad travel and camp a lot. It's not a big deal. I can guarantee that when I go to the post office to pick my mail up that I had them hold for the week, there will be a card from her, my great-aunt, and Jordan."

"That kid is just too cute. If Spencer is the right guy, do you think you'd want to get married and have kids?"

Before she could answer the buzzer rang. Anthony got up to get the food. They all sat around the TV, eating with chopsticks right out of the boxes. Since it was Amanda's birthday, they started out watching 'Sixteen Candles.' "So… Jake Ryan or Duckie?" Brian asked everyone.

"Jake Ryan, without doubt," Anthony answered.

"Ugh, shut your mouth! It will always be all about Rob Lowe. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow… always the hottie," Juan blurted out.

Amanda chuckled before starting to think. "Out of the two, I say Duckie. If we're just going with Brat Pack members, I choose Robert Downey Jr. or Andrew McCarthy. Yeah, sure, they both had their fair share of problems, maybe more, but there is just something about them that's so charming and sweet."

"I still say Rob Lowe. Other than Demi, he's aged the best too," Juan shrugged. Brian went to get the facial masks so they could apply them between the movies.

They continued to watch the teen movies they grew up on for the rest of the night. It was around eleven o'clock when Spencer text messaged Amanda, wishing her a happy birthday. He had wanted to call her but he didn't know how busy she was or if she was even awake, so he figured a text would have been the most polite way to contact her.

They were watching 'The Lost Boys' when Amanda got the text. Her friends instantly knew by the smile on her face that the message was from Spencer. Anthony nudged her with his elbow and Juan did a little dance where he sat.

After Amanda sent a text back saying thanks and that she missed him, she looked up at her small group of friends. "You guys are some very odd ducks."

"You still love us and we love you, too. We're just happy that he got a hold of you. Granted, a phone call would have been better but I'll allow it this one time," Juan said, finishing his margarita.

"Before you go home, we should have a complete beauty day. I already think we're all knockouts, but we'll doll you up so much that Spencer won't remember what breathing is," Brian said.

Amanda laughed, "First off, no one has ever even insinuated that I'm a knockout, so thank you. Second of all, Juan already tried to make me look slutty on a date and nothing happened, don't think that it will happen now."

"We don't want to make you look like slut. We know you both miss each other; we just want to make it a little more obvious on both your parts, by how you look and getting a "Holy heart attack, Batman" type of reaction of out him," Anthony responded.

Amanda busted out laughing, which got the rest of the group laughing. Anthony and Brian were serious, though. They had planned to do so all along. It was originally Juan's idea. By that time it would be a week since Amanda and Spencer had seen or talked to each other. Since they had a small spat the last time they had a date, the boys thought that having Amanda look and feel amazing when she got back would help them get back to a good place in their relationship. They wanted things to work out for her, even though they didn't really know Spencer. The last thing they would ever want for their friend was a broken heart.


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55**

It was Saturday afternoon by the time Amanda and Juan got back. Juan helped her bring her bags into her apartment, since he had his own key, as she took Reed for a short walk. When she got back, she kissed Juan goodbye and called Spencer.

Since he was home when she had called, Spencer met her at her door. "If I didn't know you lived one floor up, I'd probably be nervous and call you Droopy," she said, fishing in her purse for her key.

"Droopy? What's a Droopy?"

"Droopy Dog… the old MGM cartoon."

"I still have no idea what you're talking about."

Amanda closed her eyes and lifted her hand. She then slowly pointed to him, "Ya know what, that's okay. Don't worry about it. It's not a bad comparison. One of these days I'll show you the cartoons. In the meantime… hi." She smiled brightly at him, "I missed you."

He smiled back, "I missed you, too. You look really nice."

"Thanks," she said, pulling him into tight hug. The purple satin blouse she was wearing felt good underneath his fingertips. He closed his eyes as they held each other. She kissed his cheek and broke the embrace to open the apartment door. "Reed missed you, too," she smiled as they walked in.

Spencer picked Reed up. "How do you know? It's not like he's some sort of anthropomorphic dog," he said, scrunching up his face.

Amanda bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "Just trust me, I know."

"If you say so." Amanda sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to her. Spencer set Reed down and joined her. "So, how was your week in New York?" He was nervous about telling her what happened while she was gone, so he was trying to put it off, even for a few moments.

"It was pretty good. I missed just hanging out with my boys. Unfortunately, I didn't get the store front next to ours. So, I'm just thinking about remodeling the salon. Maybe one day we'll expand. How about you? How was your week?"

"Um… actually there's something I need to tell you about." Amanda looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Do you remember the woman from the ice skating rink?"

"Yeah…"

"Her name is Austin. I met her in Atlanta, Georgia while working on a case three years ago. Our unsub was picking up women at bars just to take them home to torture and kill them, and she was a bartender we gave the sketch to. He found out that she had recognized him later on and was calling us, so he kidnapped her. We found them in time, though. Anyway, that's how I know her. She's in town for some charity event."

"Okay," Amanda said slowly, not sure of where this conversation was going.

"I went to see her on Tuesday. We had dinner before her event."

"You went on a date with someone else and you're just now telling me?"

"It wasn't a date. At least, I don't think it was. I didn't call because I thought you'd be busy. I'm sorry."

Amanda looked away from him and sighed. "Do you like her?" she asked, looking back at him.

"No. I think I did then, but I don't anymore. The whole time I kept thinking about you."

Amanda took a deep breath and stood up. "I need to unpack. I… I can't handle this right now. I need some time to think."

"I'm really sorry, Amanda." He had the saddest face she had ever seen. She could barely look at him, though.

"Yeah," she sighed out as she went to her bedroom and started to unpack.

Spencer followed her and stood in the doorframe. "I really mean that. I had absolutely no intention of hurting your feelings. I went to see how she was doing. It's rare we get to see the aftermath and how victims are doing after we leave. I knew that she liked me but I assumed she had gotten over that. That is, until she made it clear she hadn't at dinner. I dropped her off back at her hotel and she asked me to stay but I excused myself as politely as I could and left. It came as a shock to me, really, that she asked me. I, uh, I apparently spent most of the evening talk about you."

Amanda stopped what she was doing and looked at him, crossing her arms. "I really want to forgive you. I want you to know that. I'm having a hard time with that, though. As much as I can understand the want to follow up on a case, it wasn't the brightest idea; especially since you know she liked you. I don't understand why you would have done that or at least why you couldn't have gone with someone else on the team. That's what's really upsetting me. I have to get ready for a belated birthday dinner, with some staff and friends." She then resumed unpacking and setting off to the side what she would need to get ready.

"Are you mad at me? Do you want to see me later, then?"

"I'm not terribly mad. More upset and hurt than mad, really." She looked over her shoulder to him and looked him up and down. "Maybe later, Spencer. I need to get ready and have some time to think. I can handle your job and the consequences thereof, but this… I don't know. You kept it from me and went there knowing she liked you. I need some time to process that."

He pursed his lips and nodded. He studied the floor as he slowly made his way to the front door, his hands jammed into his pockets.

Reed tried following him but got to the door just as soon as it clicked shut. He whimpered and pawed at the door before running back to the bedroom. He ran up his little set of stairs at the end of the bed and sat down next to Amanda. She was sitting at the foot of the bed, trying to keep herself from crying. After sitting there for about five minutes of thinking and softly crying, Amanda set to finishing everything up before Juan came back to pick her up for dinner.

When Spencer got back to his apartment, he wrote his daily letter to his mother. Once it was ready to send off, he read the paper and wondered if he should go to Amanda's surprise birthday party that evening. He still wasn't sure by the time he finished reading them all. He watched out his window as Juan came in to get her and as they left. It was at that point he called JJ, who would be going to the celebration soon with Will.


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56**

Juan stopped the car in front of the restaurant where Holly, Dan, Anthony, Brian, and a few of the younger members of the salon staffing team were waiting out front. Amanda screamed in surprise and excitement as she got out of the car, running up to Holly. Holly matched her scream until they hugged each other tightly and kissed each other's cheek. Amanda then hugged and kissed the cheeks of the men.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"How could it be a surprise if you knew about it?" Holly answered her best friend.

"Okay, good point. I'm so happy you came. Did you guys bring my Little Man?"

"No, he's with Dan's parents. We didn't want to leave him at the hotel alone while we stayed out. He did want to come, though."

"Well, then I guess all of you will just has to come visit when he's on break for either spring or the summer, maybe even both."

"We have to see you again this year?" Holly sighed, rolling her eyes. She quickly brightened up and smiled as Juan came up from parking the car, "Don't doubt that for a second that we'll visit on his school break." They air kissed each other.

"It's February and we have reservations, why are we standing out front?" Juan asked.

Amanda chuckled and put her arm around him. "I'm guessing this dinner is your doing, so thank you."

"Well, yeah kind of but, you're welcome."

Soon after they all sat down, the team minus Reid, came. When his name was brought up after they all had ordered, Amanda excused herself and left for the bathroom. Since she had told Juan in the car what had happened, he relayed the story to the rest of the table. JJ already knew by that point, but she did not let that fact be known. She just sat and listened along with everyone else. Before anyone could react, Amanda had come back.

Changing the subject, Morgan asked, "So how long have you two ladies known each other?"

"I was six and she was seven years old, so that was the summer of 1989. That would make it twenty-three years this summer." Holly answered.

"Has it been twenty three years? Herman H. Munster, that makes me feel old. I remember it like it was yesterday, too. I was riding my bike down the street, trying my best to look like Tiffany or Debbie Gibson, but a brunette. She had just moved in, so her dad was watching her ride her bike going the other way down the block. I stopped next to him and asked if I could play with his daughter. Five minutes later we were the best of friends," Amanda chuckled.

"Oh, so you guys were, like, neighbors then," JJ said.

"We were about four houses down from each other," Holly stated.

"That's just too adorable," Garcia smiled.

Small pockets of conversations began around the table once their dinners had arrived. Holly, Will, JJ, and Hotch talked about their children and showed off their photos. Anthony, Brian, and Rossi were talking about New York and baseball, particularly the Chicago Cubs. Dan and Derek were talking about the Chicago Bulls. The younger guests were at the other end of the table, talking amongst themselves. Kevin, Garcia, Juan and Amanda were talking about movies, music and superheroes.

"Oh, Penelope, I have something for you," Amanda said out of the blue. She rifled through her purse and pulled out an amigurumi, measuring about four and a half inches tall, in the shape of Hello Kitty's friend Keroppi. "I worked on it while Juan was driving us to New York. He reminds me of you, bubbly personality and all, so I thought you'd like it."

"Like it? I love it. It's so sweet of you. Thank you." Garcia got up and gave her a hug.

"Think nothing of it. I wasn't up to reading, so I crocheted. I do that sometimes when I'm feeling a little blue and have time to kill."

Garcia made a sad face, "Aw, I don't like that you were feeling blue. I do however adore him." She made the little stuffed frog dance on Kevin's shoulder.

They all soon found themselves saying goodbye, to keep up appearances. They were all going out after, but it was still a surprise for Amanda.

They went to a small bar which Garcia had outfitted to look like Arnold's from "Happy Days" was holding a birthday party. Covering the tabletop at one of the booths was a stack of gifts. There were dozens of homemade cupcakes decorated in different cutesy girly designs as well as appetizers. There was even a mirror ball. Juan had stolen Amanda's mp3 player when he dropped her off after coming home from New York, so that was playing on shuffle over the speakers. Amanda made the rounds, saying hello and thanking everyone for coming. There was one person missing from among the guests.

Juan put on the newest hit dance tune and took to the dance floor. Within two minutes most of the guests had their drinks and were dancing or were clustered in small groups chatting. Hotch and Rossi were leaning against the bar, watching the crowd. Amanda was sitting alone at a booth watching the crowd.

"You look like you're having fun," Rossi said, walking up to Amanda.

"Always," she responded with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Can I get you a drink?"

"Yeah, sure. That would be nice. Thank you."

"What's your poison?"

She looked to the ceiling and closed her right eye. "Um… Chivas Regal aged twelve years, with just a splash of water?"

"You got it," he smiled. He went to the bar and got her drink, and got bourbon for himself. He set the drink down in front of her before sitting on the other sit of the booth. "You don't see many women drinking scotch these days."

"Thank you. Ya know, lots of women drink scotch. It's, in fact, my mother's drink of choice. You just typically see men ordering it. Men account for about eighty percent of scotch drinkers in the US, if I remember correctly. I typically drink wine but I felt like something different."

"Eighty percent, huh?" She quietly sipped her drink as she nodded. "Thirty is a milestone birthday and you've had a low blow to the ego, so I can see why you may need a good stiff drink. How are you really holding up?"

"About turning thirty or my fairly new boyfriend going to see a woman who had kissed him in front of me, even though I was upset with the first encounter, then not telling me he had done so until the day of my birthday party just about a week later?"

"Either one. Both, I guess. You know, Reid isn't a bad guy. He never meant to hurt you. I'm sure he just thought it was something he should tell you in person."

"Oh, I know," she sighed. "Well, the age thing, it's just another day with a larger gathering of friends than I see on any other given day. As for Spencer… Forgiving the sin is easy. It's forgetting the hurt that is hard."

"Who said that?"

"I did. Didn't you recognize my voice?"

"Cute, kid," he said rolling his eyes. She shrugged it off. "We all make mistakes in relationships. That's why I got divorced three times. It'll take some time but things will get better between the two of you. You both just need to dig through the trenches together and work it out. I do know he missed you this past week. He didn't say it, but it was painfully obvious. I can see it in your eyes, you're ready for this to be done and over with."

"I'm still processing the whole thing."

"There's time, but I wouldn't wait too long. That's my guess as to why he didn't come tonight."

"That's what I was thinking. I don't want him to think that I hate him, because I don't, but I need some time to sort things out in my head. It's a lot to deal with. I finally perked up after the first incident, then I turned thirty, I lost out on the space next to my salon so now I have to think up something else, and now this. In all honesty, the hardest blow was not being able to expand my business just yet."

Before Rossi could respond, a sweat drenched Juan came over and pulled Amanda from her seat. He led her to the dance floor. Slowly, but surely, over the next few hours, guests began to leave.

Around one o'clock in the morning, Amanda was sitting at a booth, starting to fall asleep. The only other person left was Juan, who was loading her gifts into his car and cleaning up a little. He didn't want to wake her up when he was done, so he carried her to the car.

When they got back to her apartment, he took off her shoes and put her underneath her bed sheets. Reed was already fast asleep next to her. Juan set her alarm, since she had work in the morning, and cleaned Reed's potty patch before he left as quietly as he could.


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57**

Amanda tried calling Spencer on Sunday, at the beginning of her lunch break. His phone was turned off so it went straight to voicemail. She left a quick message, saying she hoped that they could get together and talk soon. She then had lunch brought in. She ate her take-out, with Juan, in her office.

"Thanks again for the party and dinner last night," she said as Juan came in.

"No problem, honey. Really. Since we were in New York, Penelope helped get it together. I just gave her ideas and split the bill between myself, Holly, and Brian. I really like that girl."

"You guys may be the best friends a girl could ask for."

"I know. Too bad Mr. Mister didn't show up. I understand why he didn't but I think that if he did, you would have gotten back on the track to good times a lot quicker. You two need to kiss and make up and just get it over with already."

"I left a voicemail a few minutes ago. Hopefully he'll call back soon and we can try to work it out. I'm over being upset. I miss him. I carried the Chaucer he gave me in my purse the entire trip. I was bookmarking it with not just the bookmark we were using, but the little note he left in the Chekhov. Now I say it aloud, it sounds pathetic."

"I don't think so. It's kind of sweet in an odd way. Sounds like you were never really mad just… disappointed. Okay, it does have an element of cheese to it, too."

"I was never angry mad, really. It just sucked too much to hear that he went, especially right after I got the call that we didn't get the space next door. This is the second time I put a bid on that store front and still nothing. I mean, after Reed, the salon is my baby. I put four years of blood, sweat, tears, and a ton of cash into this place. It really needs to be updated and I want to expand so that was painful. I really want it to flourish and I keep getting stuck. All of that combined was just too much for five minutes. But now, on the other hand, I'm on a high from Brian and Anthony's gift. They're just too sweet. I need to do something special for them. Hand me the soy sauce, please."

As he gave her a couple sauce packets he asked, "What did they give you?"

"They gave me a Beauchene skull and a ring."

"A bo-what-a skull?"

_"A Beauchene skull. They're also called 'exploded' skulls. _It's a skull that has been disarticulated, cleaned, and then reassembled on a stand with movable supports. They are super expensive and take anywhere from a few weeks to months to articulate, depending on the species. They also got me a silver Victorian ring. Both were made by the same person."

"You really can be demented at times. You also really need to stop watching the show 'Oddities.' You already have a man. Stop drooling over Ryan Matthew. You've met him a couple times on your trips to New York, he's never asked you out, and you have Spencer. I guess you can consider Ryan a friend, but that's as far as it'll ever go. Get over it."

"Osteology and skeletal articulation is a really interesting subject matter and it's a really good show. For that matter, I'll get over my taste in guys when you get over Anthony Bourdain."

"Oh, that will never happen, my dear." He had stretched out the word 'never' for emphasis.

"You do know he's straight, married, and about ten years older than you, right? He's also a smoker and you hate that."

"So? He's still is a silver fox that I wouldn't kick out of bed for spilling crumbs."

"I'm just saying, you have your crushes and I have mine. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't do anything with Ryan, if I had the chance, now that I'm with Spencer. That doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good looking man on a terrific show or buy items from Obscura when I'm in New York. There's a reason they're called crushes, nothing more."

"I'm not saying you can't. I just think it's weird. Very you, but weird. I just never got why people like the kind of things they sell there or why you dig the whole 'professor look.' Now, I can understand a crush on that guy, Derek Morgan, that was at your party, but whatever. That's my type and not yours. Just so long as I don't come over to see you making out with a poster of Giles from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' it's all good."

Amanda chuckled and went back to her lunch. "Spencer and Ryan do have a bit in common, don't they?"

"Just a little."

"Ya think?"

"Oh, definitely. They're both on the tall side, scrawny, brunettes with brown eyes, dress quite dapper, claustrophobic, into horror movies, so your type, and would probably be way too into going to the Mütter Museum." Amanda smiled, thinking about how Ryan and Spencer would both carry on at the Mütter Museum. Also, because she knew that she would be doing the same thing, and doing so giddy as a school girl.

They were almost done when her phone rang. She checked the Caller ID. "Speaking of the devil, Spencer is calling back." Juan wanted to stay and hear first-hand what was happening, but decided it was probably best to leave. He smiled and waved goodbye as he got up, using the rest of his lunch break to take Reed out. "Hello?" she spoke into the phone.

"Hey. You called?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to know if you wanted to get together to talk. I would understand if you don't. I was acting seven different shades of rude due to the funk I was in."

"I'm really sorry about that."

"Don't be. I was already in a funk when I saw you. I didn't get the space next to the salon."

"I'm sorry."

"Will you stop saying you're sorry?" she chuckled. "I get it. You're sorry. You don't need to be that sorry. It's not like you intentionally hurt my feelings that night or made sure that I couldn't get the space for expansion."

"Sorry. I mean… s-, I, I mean…"

Amanda started to giggle. "I see you still haven't gotten over that whole nervous thing," she joked.

"Well, I, uh…"

"It's cute on you."

"Um, thanks."

"You're welcome."

"So, where do you want to meet? You know, it is your turn to read next time we do so… if we do."

"Is it? I forgot whose turn it was. I guess we could do that. Wait… does that mean you want to see me tonight?"

"Do you not want to?"

"No, no, I just don't know when I'll be home. It's my first day back so I have a lot of catching up to do."

"I could always meet you there after hours. That way you don't have any clients."

"That could work."

"Great," he said with just a tad too much enthusiasm. He caught himself and cleared his throat. "I'll see you around, let's say, nine o'clock, then?"

"You bet." He was about to take the phone away from his ear when she said, "Hey, Spence?" trying to catch his attention before he hung up.

"Yeah?"

"I missed you."

He smiled to himself and started to feel the tightness in his chest again. "I… I missed you, too."

"Bye."

"Bye."

They hung up and did not move for a moment. They were excited to see each other again. They both took a deep breath before going back to their tasks at hand.


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58**

Amanda and a few other members of the staff, including Juan, were still working and cleaning when Spencer walked into the salon. It was his first time there. He couldn't see Amanda but he could tell she was singing along to the song that playing over the speakers. It was the Crystals song "Then He Kissed Me." When she came out of her office she still did not know he was there. She continued to sing and dance with Juan, who was sweeping the floor. Spencer smiled watching them. He let them finish before making his presence known.

"Oh, hi, Spence," she smiled out of embarrassment. He had missed her calling him that. This was the first time she had seen him outside of the apartment with his glasses on. She smiled as she walked over to him.

He held out a bouquet of flowers for her. It was a mixture of winter jasmine, glory-of-the-snow, and amaryllis. After smelling them, she thanked him and kissed his cheek. "I thought you'd like these. I didn't want to get you gerbera daisies again and these reminded me of our trip to the arboretum. While the latter part of the date took a terrible turn, I did enjoy our time there."

"It was beautiful there. So are these. Thanks again for them. I'll go put them in some water." She turned and started to walk away. After she got half way across the floor she looked back and Spencer was still standing by the front desk, looking around, with his hands in his pockets. "You can come back. Nothing is going to hurt you. You don't have to just stand there."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," he said, catching up with her.

She took him to the back room. She couldn't find a proper vase so she had to put the flowers in a mug of water until she got home. While they were back there, she finished up some of the laundry. Reed ran in and started barking and jumping onto Spencer. "See, he did miss you. Though, it could also be because he has to go potty. He usually goes out for the last time at this hour, so that he doesn't wake up too early needing to go and I can get a whole extra hour to sleep."

"Do you want me to take him out for you? You still have some work and I don't want to get in your way."

"If you would like. I really only have some paperwork left. I think he'd really like that." Spencer gathered Reed's things and took him out. When he got back a few minutes later, Amanda and Juan were the only ones left in the salon.

Juan was behind the front desk as Spencer walked back in with Reed. Juan smiled at him and said, "Hey sweet cheeks, Amanda's back in her office. Just remember, don't be glib. And, if you hurt her, I will beat you to death with a hot curling iron…" Spencer looked at him a bit confused and frightened. Juan shrugged and stated, "A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend." Spencer shook it off and pressed on, back to the office.

Amanda was on the computer as he walked in. "Should I be worried about Juan?"

"Hm?" She looked at over her glasses. "Oh, no. Juan is… well, Juan. Thanks for taking Reed out. Wait, why do you ask if you should be worried?"

"He told me not to be glib and threatened me with a curling iron."

"Oh, okay. Don't worry about that. He's a bunch of hot air. Come on in and take a seat."

He sat down across from her, with his hands folded on his lap, looking around the room. He was nervous as to what would come next. "You, um, you wanted to talk?"

"Yes," she sighed. She stopped working and looked directly at him. "Let's talk about this like the two calm, rational, intelligent adults that we are. I want you to know that I'm not angry at you. It takes a lot to make me angry. I don't have the time or the patience for that. Life is too short to let anger get to you. Unless, of course, you are an artist of some sort and can use it to the best of your abilities. I was upset and a little disappointed that you went and then waited an entire week to tell me. I understand why you waited, but that doesn't mean that it didn't hurt. I already forgive but I'm not that apt to forget. It'll take time to get things back to where they were and for me to trust you completely. I'm willing to work on this relationship, if you are. I do like you and have missed you. I know that I would like to move beyond this and keep seeing you. After all, it's not like I'm pure and chaste. If this is too much for you, then we can either be friends or go our own ways. I do not have enough time to waste it."

"I… I really would like to keep seeing you, too. I never meant to upset you, in any way. My only intention when I saw her was purely a follow-up after the case. If I wasn't talking about you, I was thinking about you. I wanted you to be there with me. I noticed while in DC that at the Kennedy Center that there was a concert going on that night, with the National Symphony Orchestra. They were playing Shostakovich's 'Violin Concerto No. 1.' I wanted to take you. I think you would have really enjoyed it, and I felt terrible about the night we did go to the symphony."

"It would have been nice had we enjoyed that together, instead of separately next to each other. It's amazing how night can turn on you… good to bad, dark to light."

Spencer nodded his head in agreement. "So, um… we're good?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Okay."

"Did you want me to read to you tonight?" she asked with a smile.

"It's up to you."

"I didn't ask if I was going to, I asked if you wanted me to."

"Okay. Yeah, I'd like that."

"Okay great. Why don't you go play with Reed for a little bit or go get some coffee or something? I should be done for the night in about ten or fifteen minutes."

"Sounds like a plan. Did you want some coffee?"

"Coffee is one thing I have never said no to."

"Alright. I'll be back in a few minutes." He went out to get some coffee for the both of them, noting that Juan had left. When he came back and handed her a coffee, she was still working hard. She told him to give her another five minutes.

Spencer was sitting at a station, playing fetch with Reed when Amanda came out of her office. "Okay, once I get my coat I'll be ready to lock up." She walked into the back room getting her things, including the flowers Spencer had brought.

When they got back to their building, Spencer walked Amanda to her apartment. He sat down on the couch while she changed and grabbed the book. He noticed that next to the television set was her exploded skull, set atop a new Victorian end table. He looked over to it curiously and took a sip of his coffee before walking over to it. He was still studying it when she walked out.

"Do you like my Beauchene skull? Anthony & Brian got it for me for my birthday."

"It's really well done. You know, in the mid-nineteenth century, French anatomist Claude Beauchene developed this method to display the anatomy of the head. The concept of the exploded skull was first introduced by da Vinci in his anatomical drawings."

"That I knew. I've wanted one for years. Back home I have a cabinet of curiosity, taxidermy, jarred delights, old medical equipment… as supportive of my friends and family are, most don't like visiting my childhood bedroom."

"It is quite morbid. Though you also have a book called "Lenin's Embalmers," so it's not like it's surprising."

"Back in 2010, it was an off-Broadway play. I tend to find the unusual beautiful. I might bring all that stuff I have in Indiana back here. I don't have time to renovate the salon now so I might do that here."

"Always on the go."

"Speaking of which, let's get to getting."

Amanda played with Reed while Spencer changed. He led her back to the bedroom when he was finished. Since Spencer didn't put the heat on unless absolutely necessary, it was quite chilly. They crawled underneath the covers and got comfortable. As she read, Reed fell asleep on Spencer's legs.

A couple hours later, she closed the book, finishing up for the night, and looked over to Spencer. She smiled and shook her head at the man next to her, who had fallen asleep with his glasses still on, and the puppy who was snoring on top of him. She quietly got out of the bed and walked over to the other side. She put his glasses on the nightstand, kissing his forehead as she did so, and gently picked up her dog. Then, she slinked out of the room and back to her own apartment, barely making it to her own bed before falling asleep.


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59**

That night, Spencer ate his dinner over the kitchen sink. When he was through, he sat in the chair that looked out the balcony doors. He sighed, looking around the apartment, sipping a cup of tea, as the sound of the ticking clock grew louder in his mind. There was still several hours to kill before he was to leave for Amanda's apartment. There was a part of him that liked being there far better than his own apartment.

After watching the night grow darker for a while, he took a quick shower. While he was standing under the hot water, he came to the conclusion that he and Amanda should have a real date to, hopefully, offset what had happened on their last one. He had decided to take the advice Garcia had given him before Amanda had even left for New York City.

While drying himself off, he started to play the Velvet Underground's album "Another View," skipping to the instrumental he had first heard with Amanda. He then put his towel back, changed into his pajamas, put on his glasses, and wrote to his mother. Several minutes before ten o'clock he threw on his slippers and stepped out onto the balcony, checking to see if Amanda was home.

Amanda was home for about ten minutes when there was a knock at her door. She opened the door, having just finished changing into her pajamas and washing the makeup off of her face. They smiled and quickly hugged before heading farther back into the apartment. She was listening to the fine art and classical radio station owned by PBS. Reed was playing with a toy in the living room as they went into the kitchen to boil water for tea.

Wagner's "Tannhäuser" Overture played as they waited. Amanda took his hands and put them around her, before she started to sway back and forth. He obliged and they slow danced until the kettle went off. She smiled and winked at him as she handed him a mug.

They had gotten to the living room when Spencer took Amanda's mug out of her hand, placing both of their mugs on the coffee table. The song was over and the announcer was talking to their guest. This did not stop Spencer from taking her hand in his, pulling her closer to him.

As they danced he said, "Are you cold? Your hand is freezing." He lifted their hands and kissed her opisthenar.

"I am, but that helps," she smiled. They pulled each other closer; there was barely an inch between them. "This is much better," she whispered. She put her head on his shoulder and squeezed him tightly for a moment.

Beethoven's piano sonatas No. 19 and 20 began to play. "I don't think it can get much better than this," Spencer whispered back. She could hear a shakiness in his voice. He had closed his eyes, to better bask in the moment.

Amanda lifted her head and they looked deeply into each other's eyes. They kissed softly and passionately. Once their lips broke apart, they noticed it had started to rain. It was coming down hard and fast, and the wind was strong. Spencer placed his cheek on her temple before kissing her fingers, as they began to dance again. Reed had fallen asleep on the couch.

Before long, they heated their teas and crawled into bed. Spencer set his glasses on the nightstand, underneath the table lamp. He turned over to her, putting his head on the pillow. As she read, he watched her face and smiled.

When she finished reading, he closed the book for her and put it on the nightstand. He turned back and looked her in the eyes. "You look radiant."

She smiled at him and kissed the top of his head. "Thank you. I always think you're incredibly handsome. Come over here." As he scooted himself closer to her, she put her arms around him and set her glasses next to his. They nestled into each other, falling asleep in each other's arms.

At five o'clock that morning, Spencer's phone rang. Reed had climbed onto the bed after they had fallen asleep and cuddled himself up against Spencer. He had to move Reed off of his face, just to answer the ringing phone. Amanda did not stir at all. Spencer had to leave for Quantico immediately, for a case.

After he hung up the phone, Spencer gently shook Amanda awake. She looked up at him with dreamy eyes and smiled. "Good morning, star shine."

"Star shine?"

She shrugged, "It's too early and I'm too tired to come up with something better."

He softly chuckled before he said, "I have to leave on a case. Chances are that I won't be home for a few days at the least. When I do get back, I want to take you out, to do something special."

"I think whatever we do is special, but okay. Any reason for this?"

"Not particularly. I just want to. I guess that also, subconsciously, I want to make up for what's happened."

She smiled and put her hand on his cheek. "There's no need to apologize anymore. But, it is very sweet. I'd be happy to follow you anywhere. For now though, you need to get out of your pajamas and get to Quantico." She sighed, "I'll walk you out."

Spencer put his glasses back on and handed Amanda her pair. Amanda walked him to the door, wrapping herself around his arm. Reed woke up and ran after them. As Spencer and Amanda hugged and kissed goodbye, Reed was constantly jumping up and pawing at Spencer's leg. When he and Amanda broke apart, Spencer picked Reed up.

"I think he'll miss you almost as much as I will. Maybe more since he doesn't know you're coming home soon," Amanda said as Reed licked Spencer's cheek.

"Well, I know I'll miss you more," Spencer smiled. He handed Amanda her dog and kissing her cheek before scratching Reed behind his ears.

Amanda watched him jog back to his apartment. She sighed as she went back in, putting Reed down. Reed stared at the door for a few moments, hoping for Spencer to come back. When he came to realize that Spencer was gone, he ran back to Amanda, who was in the kitchen, and whimpered a little. Amanda picked him up and pulled him onto her chest.

She kissed his head and whispered, "I know you miss him already. I do, too. We'll see him soon." She handed him a treat and set him down so she could make coffee for the work day ahead of her.


	60. Chapter 60

**Chapter 60**

**A/N: Crime shows take cases from the newspapers and tweak them to what fits their purposes. This is what I've done. This case was loosely based on the exploits of a couple of real life killers, tweaked to fit this story.**

The Tucson police needed the help of the BAU. For nearly a month, there had been a rash of murders in the downtown area. Eight of the victims were either prostitutes or teenaged runaways. They had been drugged, bound, tortured, and raped before they were murdered. These high-risk victims were of different ages and races, chosen completely at random.

The BAU was called in because of the high profile ninth victim. She was a twenty-three year old college student, and the daughter of the mayor. It had been discovered that she had been missing for a week before her body turned up. Now, his wife was missing. The police had called them in before she was the tenth.

The team had been in Arizona for nearly 36 hours and had gotten very little sleep. Reid was looking over photos and eating dinner in a back room when he decided to call Amanda.

"Hello, Spence," she answered with a yawn.

"Oh, hi. I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"No. Actually, I couldn't sleep so Reed and I are watching 'Phantom of the Opera.' Shouldn't you be working on your case or sleeping?"

"I'm on a dinner break right now. We're in Arizona so we're three hours behind you. However, I am looking over the crime scene photos. I just wanted to call to say that I miss you."

Amanda smiled, "Aw, I miss you, too. So does Reed. Every time we've passed the stairs he paused and looked up them. I think he was hoping we would pay you a visit."

"Well, hopefully we'll get this guy quickly, and I'll see you both soon."

Morgan walked in the room, "Reid, break's over, man. The cops brought in a man on theft charges. Looks like he could be our unsub."

"Hey, Amanda, I have to go. I'll call back when I get some free time," Spencer said into the phone, nodding to Morgan.

"Don't worry about it. Just go catch 'the big bad.'"

They said their goodbyes and Reid followed Morgan to where the suspect was being held. Morgan had a sly grin on his face as Reid caught up to him. "Sorry you're missing out on spending Valentine's Day with Amanda."

"While I'd much prefer to be spending the day with her than being out in the field in eighty degree weather, she doesn't celebrate Valentine's Day. She once called it a 'Hallmark holiday.'"

Morgan chuckled, "Here I was thinking that was Sweetest Day."

"Sweetest Day? What's that?"

They caught up to the rest of the group when Hotch turned to them with arms folded across his chest. "He was apprehended shortly after shoplifting a 20 pack of batteries from a home improvement store. A gun was found in the car. He said it was his friends and told the police his name was Walsh. The gun was registered to Walsh so he was brought in on that. He was picked up driving a 2005 Lincoln LS whose owner was reported missing nine months ago. Profile for this case looks like a match. Rossi is in there with him now, trying to get a confession."

The man in the interrogation room with Rossi asked if he could write his wife a letter before writing down his confession. The suspect put the letter into his breast pocket and in one swift move took something out of the same pocket. While doing so, he told Rossi the name of his accomplice and that they had found the car abandoned. He then feigned a cough and swallowed whatever was pulled out. Within a few seconds, the man started to convulse.

While the man was en route to the hospital, the police searched the car. They found shell casings under the seats, several identification cards in the glove compartment, a blood stain on the passenger side floor, and a bill in the armrest with a P.O. Box address. After several hours of searching, they had then come to find the bill was in the name of the ex-wife of their suspect, living about 50 miles out of town.

The next morning, Rossi and Reid went to interview her while Hotch and Morgan went to the hospital, to see if they could get more information from the man. The wife was not home and the man was now in a coma. They had tried the woman's place of business but she had the day off. Garcia had tracked the woman's cell phone down to Scottsdale, where the woman was visiting her mother.

Several hours later, the whole team was in Scottsdale. The ex-wife told them about a cabin in the mountains in a town called Alpine. It was supposedly sublet to a friend of her ex-husbands. This was the same man that was given up as the accomplice. Their suspect had died in the hospital while they were on the way to the cabin.

It was nighttime by the time the team and a police backup got to the cabin. Inside, they found blood splatter on the walls and furniture. Reid had discovered tapes that were labeled only with the dates that the women had been murdered. These tapes showed the women bound, drugged, teeth were pulled and fingers had been removed so they were completely defenseless during rape, and then they were brutally murdered.

During the search of the cabin, a search warrant for the entire property had been obtained. Garcia was set to the task of finding the accomplice and an APB was put out on him. It took several days to search the property and collect evidenced. Five more bodies were found buried on the property, including that of Mr. Walsh. The mayor's wife was found beaten in a horse stall near the back of the two acre property.

The accomplice was found at an airport, trying to leave the country. He committed suicide by cop. The mayor was reunited with his wife at the police station. Reid watched as they held each other for the first time since she had gone missing.

"At least there was one happy ending," JJ said, coming up behind Reid.

"I just can't wait to get home to Will and Henry. He's getting to that age where holidays are fun. Before we left, Garcia got Henry Play-Doh. They made heart shaped cookies out of it for Will and me," JJ smiled.

"You give a three year old Valentine's gifts?" Reid asked, confused.

"Why not? Everyone deserves to be shown that they're loved, even at three."

"True, but it's not like he understands it or that it's different from any other day."

"It's okay, Spence. I didn't expect you to get him anything. Right now you're more focused on your girlfriend. You should be. Do something for her, especially since she's not expecting it. Maybe even something for her dog. He does seem to love you, from what I heard. However, Henry is now expecting something for Easter."

The rest of the team went to get ready to leave as Reid watched the mayor and his wife walk out arm in arm. He smiled and his hands in his pocket, before joining the rest of team, ready to head back home.


	61. Chapter 61

A/N: I apologize that updates have been sporadic at best, and will continue to be. At least, for a while they will. Every once in a while, life tends to seem busier than usual, especially once stores start stocking their shelves with Christmas décor until around mid-January. This year is no exception for me, both with the good and the bad. I won't bore you with those details. I do have an idea or two for a couple chapters ahead, but I do have to get there before typing all of that up and I just have not had the time lately. The gears are constantly working, just not always the fingers. Here's wishing you well during the holiday season (no matter which you celebrate, if any), and all year round. Please, pardon the absences and I hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 61**

Spencer had missed Amanda while away, even more so as he watched the mayor and his wife reuniting. Though they were both heartbroken that they would never see their daughter again, they still had love for each other shining in their eyes.

By the time Spencer got back to Fredericksburg, it was getting late. He saw Amanda's car in its usual space, so he bounded up the stairs to her apartment, not even dropping his things off at his own. He waited for her after knocking at the door.

Juan opened the door in yellow footed pajamas with fire trucks on it. He was holding a squirming Reed. "Oh, well, look who decided to grace us with his presence," he smiled, putting Reed down. The little dog hurried over to Spencer, jumping and wanting to be picked up.

"Is Amanda home?" he asked, complying with the dogs wish.

"Yeah, we were just having a little date night. We used to have them once a week. Honestly, I think she was getting lonely without you. Come on in. She's in the bathroom, rinsing off a facial mask." Juan stepped out of the way, to usher Spencer in. Once Spencer was in, Reed pawed at his chest.

"Maybe I should just wait to see her until tomorrow."

"Nonsense. You should stay. In fact, we were going to take this one out for a walk before we ate some dessert she made. Why don't you and Amanda take him out? Afterwards, all three of us can eat and hang out. After all, the best friend and the boyfriend should get to know each other. Don't you think?"

Just then, Amanda came out and into the living room. When she saw Spencer, she smiled. Her hair was tied back, she had on no makeup, and was wearing her pajamas, but Spencer thought she looked radiant. She positively glowed seeing him. "Spence! You're back." She went up to him and gave him a hug.

Juan smiled and let out an 'aw,' looking at them embrace. Spencer made out a barely audible 'hello.' Juan then handed Reed's leash to Spencer. "He's walking Reed with you. Then, we're all going to spend the evening together, like one big happy family." He turned to Spencer, "Come back in your jammies." He smiled, amused with himself, and went into the kitchen.

"Bossy little fella, ain't he?" Amanda chuckled. "You really don't have to. I'm sure you're tired and want to get some sleep," she said as she hooked Reed to his leash and took him from Spencer.

"No, I-I'm good. I slept a bit on the plane."

"You still don't have to walk Reed with me or come back here. Juan kind of pushed that on you and you probably weren't expecting any of this."

"No, no I wasn't. It's okay though, I came here to spend some time with you. I still do, if you want me to."

She smiled and put her arm around his. "Then we should probably put a sweater on this one and take him out."

They did not speak again until they were outside. "I'm sorry about Juan, but I am glad you came by decided to stay. I missed you," Amanda said as she looked out into the night sky. She then turned to him and smiled.

"I missed you, too. Parting is all we know of heaven and all we need to know of hell."

"I'm surprised you had the time to, Miss Dickinson."

He smiled at her, "I promise I will always make the time."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Well, I'll do my best to," he said as they watched Reed roll around on the grass. They both smiled watching the puppy play.

Amanda turned to Spence and noticed an eyelash on his cheek. Softly, she placed the lash onto her fingertip and said, "Blow."

"What did you say?"

"I said, 'blow.'"

"Why?"

"You're supposed to close your eyes, make a wish, and blow the lash away."

"That makes no sense, whatsoever."

"Says who?"

"The entire scientific community, that's who."

"Horse hockey. Please. Humor me." She lifted her hand up a little more for him. He rolled his eyes and sighed before complying. "See, that wasn't so bad," she smiled.

Reed was desperately trying to get Spencer's attention, so he picked the dog up. "We should get back in before Juan starts to worry about you."

Amanda giggled a little, before they turned to go back inside. "He already does. That's okay, though. I worry about him, too. He really likes you. He just has a real funny way of showing it. He thinks of me like a sister and really doesn't know you all to well, so he's treading lightly."

"I can understand that. He's the only person to threaten me with a hair appliance. You seem to like me, and that's really all I care about. I think this one does too," he said as Reed pawed at his chin.

"I do like you. A lot, at that. As for Reed... when you are around, I think he loves you more than me," Amanda chuckled as they got to her floor. "You better get changed if you want to come back to my place. Juan will throw a fit and change you himself."

Spencer looked a little bit frightened. "Well, we don't want that to happen. I think, then, I'll go change." They quickly kissed before parting ways. Spencer took Reid with him.

When Amanda got back inside her apartment, she hung up her coat. Juan was sitting in the small dining room, at the bistro table, sipping on a cup of hot tea. "Tell me that you two made out."

Amanda got herself a mug as she answered, "Of course not. We talked and Reed went to the bathroom. That was it."

Juan slumped over the table. "You're going to lose that boy."

"Why would you say a thing like that?"

"It's the truth. Most adult relationships last three months, and that's when they date and have adult fun. So, with all the time you've spend apart, I'd say you're at two, maybe two and a half months. I'm just preparing you for the inevitable. Plus, I would dump you by now if I wasn't getting anything."

"Thanks. I love you, too. It's not like that." She sat across from him at the table.

"He's a man, isn't he?"

"That's just mean."

"Mean or not, it's the truth. What are you getting from him that you don't already get from me, other than silly little conversations about quantum mechanics or something? You can't tell me that the two of you haven't been singing Olivia Newton-John in your heads. I like you two together and all, but something has got to happen. Sweetie, you've only been out on what one or two good dates? Yeesh."

"Please, don't be like this when he comes back."

"I will be my usual, sweet and charming self. I just thought there should be a warning label before you come crying on my shoulder."

"I hope it doesn't come to that. It'd be weird crying on the shoulder of someone who wears an adult creeper."

"It's an onesie."

"No, no it's not."

"What's the difference, then?"

"Onesies don't have legs, like Beyonce's black leotard in the 'Single Ladies' video, and usually have three buttons. Creepers cover the legs, like what you're wearing."

"Why do you know these things?"

"I have a godchild that I have been spoiling since before he was even born. I bought a lot of both."

"You really do love that boy. He is sweet and cute. You and G-man should get working on your own."

"Juan!"

"What? Can't a boy want his own godchild to spoil?"

"I'm not going to have a baby to benefit your needs."

"You want one, too, though."

"Maybe."

"I thought you did."

"I did, but I also wanted to have my first child, or preferably all of them, if there is to be more, before the age of thirty-five. Fertility starts declining at my age, and fertility goes down by one-third by the mid to late thirties. While possible to have a healthy baby at in your thirties, there are more risks. Plus, I haven't been with a man in years, I'd prefer to be married before pregnant, I don't have the time, and I don't want to be near sixty when my kid graduates high school."

"You and G-man really need to get moving then."

"Shame on you," Amanda said as she got up to get them more tea.

There was a knock at the door and Spencer came in, in his pajamas. Juan jumped up, "Amanda, get the yummy treats and let the games begin!"


	62. Chapter 62

**A/N: Happy New Year! I wanted to leave a little now, to ring in the New Year. The juicier bits will come soon.**

**Chapter 62**

Juan walked over to the door and put Spencer's arm around his. "So glad you could join us. This is going to be so much fun. We have tons of board games from the Seventies through the Nineties. Have you eaten yet? We already had dinner, but we're about to have dessert." After a pause Juan continued, "Who am I kidding? I'm sure you want to taste Amanda's goodies." Juan then smiled and winked at Spencer.

"Um…" Spencer had no idea what to say. He felt a little creeped out by how Juan had winked and that he still had a leering smile on his face.

"I didn't know you wore glasses. You look really cute in those jammies. Powder blue is a good color on you. Is that a drawstring waist or stretch?"

Juan tried lifting up Spencer's shirt to look at the waistband. "What are you doing? Stop that," Spencer said wide-eyed as he jerked away. He finally broke free of Juan's grasp and quickly slinking away to the kitchen where Amanda was.

"Is Juan scaring you already? You just walked in the door," Amanda asked, seeing the expression on Spencer's face.

"Um, yeah, a little. He was trying to examine my waistband."

Amanda smiled and rolled her eyes. "Just be happy he wasn't trying to examine what's underneath."

Spencer shivered at the thought. "You know, the next time we read together we're going to finish the book. We should plan something for after."

"Like another book?"

"There's that, but I was thinking about going out and doing something to celebrate our first book together."

"That's sweet. I thought you were already taking me out soon, though."

"I am, apparently not tonight, though. This would be a separate occasion."

"So, you want to take me out on two dates soon."

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"That sounds wonderful. Oh, I am going to apologize now for tonight."

"Why?"

"A lot of tonight's games are from when we were kids. They're tailored to that demographic. Chances are, right now Juan is collecting the games and at least a couple are going to be girly games."

"Oh, okay. I'm a little frightened by that thought. Juan said there's dessert?"

"Yes. I made peanut butter and chocolate squares, cookies, there's an apple pie, rum balls, candied walnuts, and fruit. Eat what you can."

"You made all that?"

"Over a couple days, yes I did. It didn't take as long as you think. Or are you surprised I can do the whole domestic thing?" She raised an eyebrow at him and handed him a glass of red wine.

He stood straight up. His eyes were wide and darted around the room. "No. I didn't doubt you for a second. I was more surprised that you made all that for just the two of you."

"We don't eat it all and I bring the leftovers into work. In fact, we usually just eat the rum balls, and only some of the fruit and nuts. A couple bottles of wine are usually consumed, too."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Yes."

"What's that?"

"You can give me a kiss or you take the wine bottle over to the coffee table. I'd prefer both, but it's up to you."

He smiled at her and put his arms around her waist. As they kissed, they heard, "Aw, would you look at that? That's so cute. Look, Reed, Mommy and Daddy are getting frisky. So much better than 'Days of Our Lives.'"

This interjection made them break the kiss. They both looked at Juan like he was nuts. "To be continued," Amanda said as she handed the bottle of wine to Spencer.

In the living room there were several stacks of board games on the coffee table. "Treats can go on the side table," Juan pointed out to Spencer as he set up a movie.

"What are we watching?"

"Well, we're not really watching it; it's more like background during the games. But, to answer your question, it's Amanda's all-time favorite movie. Don't ask me why."

Spencer watched intently at the screen to see what the title was. He missed the title card, as that was when Amanda came into the room with the rum balls. "Which game is up first?" she asked.

"We need to be easy on this one. It is his first time at the rodeo. I'm thinking we start off with something like 'Scattegories,' to lure him into a false sense of security. Maybe we can play 'The Game of Life.' Then we play the games he has no chance of winning."

"I think I could play old board games well enough," Spencer said, trying to defend his integrity.

"Sweetheart, a lot of the games are pop culture based. I love that brain of yours, but it won't help when we play the 'Nick At Nite' game or that are just pure luck." Amanda then kissed his cheek.

"Or we get you drunk," Juan shrugged.

"That's not going to happen," Spencer shook his head.

"I don't mean blackout drunk, I want to keep your baby maker operational tonight. Maybe just a little tippy. Too bad, though. I'm sure seeing you drunk would be a hoot and a half."

For several hours they played the board game and watched Amanda's favorite movies. After they watched "Caligula," Amanda's all-time favorite, they watched the low-brow exploitation and cheesy horror movies she loves. When they played 'The Game of Life' and Spencer's little peg got married, Juan handed him a pink peg and said, "Here's Amanda!"

Near two o'clock in the morning, Juan suddenly got up and ran into Amanda's bedroom. He came back with a pillow and blanket, feigning a yawn. After throwing the pillow and blanket on the couch, he pulled Spencer up by the arm. "It's time for bed so get in there and lie down," Juan ordered, pushing Spencer into the bedroom. Amanda was standing off to the side, in shock, watching what was happening.

"You too, little missy," Juan said coming back. He walked behind Amanda and pushed her into her room. With the couple in the bedroom, Juan waved and said, "Good night! Don't let the bud bugs bite! You can nibble on each other, though." He closed the door and went to get his makeshift bed in order.

Spencer and Amanda looked at each other, confused and shocked. "Would you like to stay the night?" Amanda shrugged.

Spencer pursed his lips, "I don't want to know what will happen if I don't. So, yes, I'd like to stay the night.

They nodded to each other and went to separate sides of the bed. They crawled in and Amanda began to read the final portion of the book.


	63. Chapter 63

**Chapter 63**

Spencer had his arm around Amanda as he read. Once he finished, Amanda took off his glasses. She kissed his cheekbone and set both of their pairs of glasses on the nightstand beside her. Spencer set the book on the stand on his side of the bed. When they came back to each other, Spencer wrapped his arms around her, giving her a short, tight hug. She kissed him quickly and sweetly. They then began kissing each other in this manner before Amanda held the kiss longer. She could not help but start to make out with him.

Just shy of a full minute later, they heard, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, don't stop. I just need to use the powder room." As Juan walked into the bathroom, Reed ran up his little stairs and onto the bed. Within seconds of this interruption, Reed edged his way in between his two favorite humans. They could hear Juan singing the chorus to Pat Benatar's song "We Belong."

"Have I already apologized for tonight?" Amanda sighed, a bit frustrated and embarrassed.

"You did about the board games, but I'm taking that question as an unnecessary apology."

She meekly smiled at him as she put Reed on her lap. When Juan went back to the living room, the moment was ruined. The three of them in the bedroom cuddled a little closer to get some rest.

Amanda was having trouble falling asleep. She stared into the darkness towards the ceiling for some time, and her two boys beside her. She got up for a cup a tea, in hopes that it would help keep her mind from racing as fast as it was. Juan heard her and went to the kitchen.

She put the water in the kettle as he got the mugs. "Anything happened after I left you two alone?" he asked.

"They fell asleep."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to interrupt, but what else was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, I know. It was bad timing, but understandable."

"I am happy you two were necking, even if it was for a short time and abruptly stopped. I like him. I like you with him."

They continued their chat, with their teas, to the bistro table. "You have an odd way of showing it. I'm pretty sure you scared the living daylights out of him. He's not your biggest fan right now."

"Okay, so I may have been a little overzealous."

"A little?"

"Comparatively, yes. You remember how I was when I met the last one you brought home."

"You also hated him the moment you saw him."

"I was right to hate him."

"This is true."

"And at least I'm saying something here. It seems like you two barely talk, at least about the important stuff. You talk about the stars or whatever, over my head, but you don't even know each other's middle names. Do you even know his birthday, yet?"

"No. No, I don't. I guess we do keep each other at arm's length when it comes to that sort of stuff. It's not on purpose. At least on my end, it isn't. Conversation is a two way street and neither one of us really travels down 'Personal Avenue.' I can only speak for myself, though. I think it's partly because I don't want to get hurt again like I had been and so fear is keeping me from getting close. I think it's still too soon for me to be as invested as I feel. My heart says go for it, open yourself up to him, let him consume your entire being, have the kind of love only poets know. My brain, on the other hand, isn't sure yet. Fear breeds great motivation and debilitation. I just hope this doesn't mean we skipped over the wooing or honeymoon phase. It would be nice to get a bit closer and that's a good stage. I just don't know how he feels about me, really. Maybe if I did, I'd be a little more open to letting him in, letting my heart take over for a while."

Juan reached across the table and put his hand on top of hers to comfort her. Moments later, Reed ran out of the bedroom and over to them. Spencer followed him, with his hands folded in front of him and his lips pursed. Juan sighed and grabbed the mugs. "Come on, Reed, I'll get you a treat."

Amanda's eyes instantly lit up and a smile came across her face when she saw Spencer. "Hey, Spence. Did we wake you?"

"Hm? Oh, uh, no."

"Can I get you something?"

"Uh, no. I'm fine." He did not want her to know that he heard what she confessed to Juan. "Are you coming back to bed?"

"Yeah," she said getting up. She patted his cheek softly as she passed him. As he started to head back to the bedroom, Reed ran right by him and took his spot on the pillow next to Amanda.

When Spencer caught up, he moved Reed so he could get under the sheets. Comfortable, he set the dog onto his lap. He looked over to Amanda and smiled before kissing her forehead. "Did JJ or Garvia ever tell you about Emily?" he asked, looking back down to Reed and petting him.

Amanda shook her head and answered, "No."

Spencer then went on to tell Amanda all that he could of Emily: their friendship in and out of the BAU, what kind of woman she was, her death and how it affected him, everything. He told her that there was more he wanted to tell her, but was having trouble doing so. His heart raced and he was hesitant about fully coming clean, but he decided it was for the best. He wanted to show her that he cared and that he trusted her. He just did not want to scare her away. He was quiet for a couple minutes, staring down at Reed.

It took Amanda taking his hand in hers and whispering "It's okay, I understand," for him to get the nerve to tell her about his mother's illness, how he was scared that it may happen to him, Gideon, Elle, his headaches, and his past drug use. She listened intently as he came clean, still holding his hand. When he was through telling her everything that he wanted to, he took a deep breath. She held his hand tightly and with the other pulled his head closer to her. She kissed his cheek before he set his head on her shoulder. It was an emotionally exhausting day, and he could not keep his eyes open any longer. She was going to tell him details of her past he did not know, but when she looked over, he was alreay asleep.

When Spencer woke up in the morning, he was alone in the bed. He noticed the bathroom door was closed, the shower was running, and whoever was in there was playing music as he went to get coffee. Reed was the only one in the living room, chewing on a toy. The kitchen was empty, and there was only a half pot of coffee left. He figured Juan had left and Amanda was in the shower, so after getting his coffee he went and knocked on the door.

Juan stepped out of the bathroom in just his slacks, his hair still wet. He closed the door behind him, so that he could talk over the music. "She just hopped in the shower and is listening to Neil Diamond, so she'll be out by the beginning of "I'm a Believer" and finished by the beginning of "Do It." If you have to use the washroom, go right ahead. She won't be able to see you… unless you want her to. You, my friend, are staying for breakfast, so when you're done in there, come to the kitchen and you can help me out."

"Wait, how do you know by which song she'll be out?"

"Sweetie, I've known her for about a decade now. Since we both were doing hair for drag queens back in Chicago. We even lived together for a while." He shifted his eyes around the room before adding, "I like you two together; you make her happier than I've seen her in years."

"She makes me happy, too."

"Good. That's all I need to know. I'll meet you in the kitchen," Juan said crossing his arms and starting to walk to the kitchen.

"But, I really don't eat breakfast," Spencer said.

"Too bad," he called out over his shoulder.

Spencer pursed his lips as he looked at the closed bathroom door. He decided it was best to not go in, so he followed Juan into the kitchen.

Juan was already getting out the pans needed to make breakfast when Spencer walked into the kitchen. "Aw, too much of a gentleman to go in there, huh? Cute."

"Um, yeah, thanks."

"Sorry about last night, but when you got to go… Amanda said you're taking her out soon, is it like a belated Valentine's or something?"

"No, not really. She doesn't celebrate it."

"Not generally, no. However, she would if you wanted to. If she knew you wanted to do something or exchange gifts, she'd go out of her way to do the same for you. She does that kind of thing, especially if she cares about you. She sent a gift to Holly's son for Valentine's. You, my friend, may just have top billing, even above him."

"She's never mentioned a Holly."

"She's her childhood best friend. She still lives in Indiana. I think her son, Jordan, will be spending Spring Break here, so I hope you like kids. Any idea on this non-Valentine's date?"

"Not yet. I haven't had time to plan."

"She's pretty easy," Juan paused for a moment and giggled to himself. "To plan a date for, I mean. She likes you, so as long as your there she'll be happy." Spencer smiled as he took a sip of his coffee. "For future reference, if you want to take her out for a weekend trip, which you should, let me know so I can change her schedule at work. I'd prefer some notice, but spontaneity is a plus in the romance department."

Spencer knitted his eyebrows not knowing how to respond. As he took a sip of his coffee, Amanda came in. "Hello, boys," she smiled. She kissed Spencer's cheek, and in return, he kissed her temple.

Juan handed her a coffee. "You should grow your hair out again."

"Uh, okay. Why?" Amanda asked, shaking off how random the question was.

"You had this sexy librarian thing going on."

"And I don't now?"

"Not as much. You used to look like that one chick who wore cat eye glasses." Amanda now looked at him confused. Spencer was so confused that he decided to stay out of it and give Reed a treat. The had just fallen completely silent when he exlaimed, "Lisa Loeb! That's who I was thinking about." Amanda chuckled as Spencer shook his head.

Juan had just handed out the plates for their breakfast, when they heard a noise coming from the living room. It was the alarm on Spencer's phone. He handed Juan the plate back and had to excuse himself from the meal so he could get ready for work. After he grabbed his phone, Amanda walked him to the door while holding Reed. At the doorway, he kissed the top of her forehead and scratched Reed's head between the ears. Just before walking away, he thanked Amanda and Juan for an 'interesting' night, and told Amanda that he would call her later.


	64. Chapter 64

**Chapter 64**

It had been nearly a week since they had finished reading the Chaucer, and they had yet to decide on a new book or gone on the celebratory date as they had planned. Amanda and Spencer had instead stayed in and talked. They told each other the important stories of their lives, as well as the not so important tidbits. They watched movies together and danced through the night to classical music in the radio. They still split time going back between each other's apartments, occasionally spending the night together. Each night Amanda brought Reed to Spencer's apartment so they could walk him together. It was two nights prior, on this walk, that they exchanged keys to their apartments to make their nightly visits easier. Spencer was getting used to not being the only one in bed and the constant jingle of Reed's tags as he followed Spencer's every move. In fact, he was starting to enjoy it. He found himself getting quite attached to the little dog, and his lovely human companion.

Spencer had asked Amanda to take that Sunday off from work. He wanted to spend the entire day with her as their date in honor of finishing their first novel together. Though she had to reschedule clients or find another stylist to take the clients she could not reschedule, she was happy to do so. She could hardly contain her excitement in the days leading up to their date.

It was six o'clock in the morning that Sunday when Spencer let himself into Amanda's apartment. Reed had heard the door so he came running up, happy to see one of his favorite people. Spencer left a note for Amanda by her glasses, instructing her to take her shower if she got up before he came back from taking Reed out.

When he returned, the Violent Femmes song "Add It Up" was playing loudly from the bedroom. As he walked by, on his way to the kitchen, he stopped and noticed that Amanda was blow drying her hair. She was dancing and singing along, wearing nothing but a tank top and her underwear. He stared for a moment, confused and shocked, though he couldn't help but smirk.

When she was through, Amanda came into the living room. "Something smells good."

"I made eggs and toast." Spencer said handing her a coffee.

She smiled, "Incredibly smart, cute as all hell, can shoot a gun, cook, and brings me coffee... Spence, you're a man after my own heart."

"It's just scrambled eggs and toast. They're fairly easy. It doesn't mean that I can cook."

Amanda rolled her eyes and kissed his cheek. "Take the compliment, say thank you, be happy, and leave it at that."

He smirked, "Thank you."

They sat down at the dining room table, where Spencer had set the table and even lit a candle. "So what is it that you have planned for us?"

"I have a couple things planned."

"You're not going to tell me anything?"

"How would it be a surprise if I told you now?"

"Right now, it is a surprise. Eventually, it won't be. But, until you tell me or we get there, it will be."

He stopped lifting his fork and looked at her dead on. After a pause he said, "I'm still not telling you."

She shrugged, "Well, I tried." He smiled as they went back to their breakfast.

They squared things away after eating and headed out to Spencer's car. On their way, they listened to Spencer's copy of the latest release from the London Philharmonic and they stopped for coffee.

Spencer took Amanda to the Smithsonian's National Zoo. A smile formed on Amanda's face as she turned to Spencer. "This was Garcia's idea, actually. I'm not that good at planning a date."

"I think you do just swell."

"I did plan tonight, though. I think you'll like it."

"I'm sure I will. Now, come on, I haven't been to a zoo since elementary school."

As they got in, Amanda took the map from Spencer and put it in her purse. "Why did you do that?"

"It's more fun to wander around."

"If you say so, Amanda."

"That, I do."

A small boy of five or six turned a corner quickly, not looking where he was going. The child almost slammed right into Spencer, but did not as his arms were stretched out. Instead, he pushed Spencer back a step, by the thighs. He did not apologize, but giggled as he ran off. "Remind me again, why I decided to take Garcia's advice?"

"You trust her. You wanted to take me out on a date, but couldn't think of anything. Animals are cute."

"Okay, okay. That was a rhetorical question."

"I know. I just wanted to answer, though."

They stopped to look at the giant pandas. As they looked into the habitat, Spencer stuffed his hands in his pockets. A half of a minute had passed when he spoke up. "There are only about one thousand six hundred giant pandas living in the wild in China. Only about three hundred are in captivity, mostly in China. They mate in springtime and gestation is anywhere from ninety-five to one hundred sixty days. It's quite interesting, some mate just while others may copulate several times a day for two or three days before the female becomes pregnant. Either way, females conceive only during their two to three day estrous period, which occurs just the one time a year, and show no interest in mating at any other time. Males, however, are sexually active for a longer period in the spring, allowing them to attempt to inseminate more than one female. Babies are about one nine hundredth of the size of their mothers and stay with them for one and a half to three months. Otherwise they're pretty much a solitary animal."

"It's – It's more sad than interesting to me."

"How is that sad? Those are the facts."

"I didn't think you were making them up as you went along. I don't know. I guess it's because I'm human. We can and generally do copulate at the drop of a hat, any time of the year, as often as we can. We're also a social animal. It would be depressing for a human to live like that. It is depressing to actively look for someone with traits worthy of passing on to a next generation as humans do."

"But they're pandas, not humans."

Amanda opened her mouth to respond, but decided to shake her head. She patted his chest, smiling, and started to walk to the next exhibit.

"What?" Spencer asked, confused, starting to follow her to the Asian small-clawed otters. When he caught up to her, he looked to the ground and said, "I'm sorry."

She lifted his head, "There's no need to apologize."

"Then why did you walk away?"

"It seemed like the best time to move on to another exhibit. There is a lot of ground to cover, after all."

He could not argue, so he nodded and turned to look at the otters. A baby started to cry behind them. Spencer turned to the baby, then back to the otters. "It sounds like they're trying to call to each other." Amanda covered her mouth as she laughed.

They walked around for several hours, taking in all the sights, until they stopped to sit down on a bench, near the children's area. "Why is that kid chasing a peacock?" Spencer asked.

"Because he can and thinks that it's fun." She looked at him and smiled, "Thank you for bringing me here."

He put his arm around her and brought her in closer. He whispered, "You're welcome."

"I like this. I like it a lot… being here with you," Amanda said playing with Spencer's fingers as they rested on her lap.

"I do, too." He kissed the top of her head. She then rested her head on his shoulder.

About twenty minutes later, Spencer bought a small drink and a soft pretzel for them to share. They sat there for a while, watching the kids play. Spencer brushed Amanda's hair out of her face and held her tight. Near three o'clock, they got up and walked over to the lion den.

"I don't remember being this happy." Amanda said, taking his hand in hers.

"I'm glad I make you feel that way."

"You really do."

He wanted to tell her how wonderful he felt when they were together. She was so entranced watching the lion eat, that he thought it best no to say anything. Several minutes later, though, he looked to his watch and said that they had to leave for their next destination.

Her eyes lit up when she saw that they were going to the National Museum of Crime & Punishment. She was smiling ear to ear, and seeing her so excited, her eyes sparkling like they were, made Spencer's heart race a little faster. "Dr. Reid, you're trying to seduce me," she said, paraphrasing "The Graduate."

"I- I, um…" he did not know how to respond, so he blurted out, "There's a body decomposition workshop in 10 minutes." Quickly, she got out of the car and then pulled him inside of the building.

She was enthralled by everything she saw and tried soaking up every last bit of knowledge. Spencer had been there quite a few times before, as a patron and a guest speaker, so this visit was purely to delight Amanda. He loved the interest she had shown when it came to this field and he knew he had to bring her there.

When they got to the car used in the movie "Bonnie and Clyde," Amanda stopped in her tracks. She got a sad look about her face as her eyes went over every bullet hole. "What's wrong, Amanda?" he asked, putting his hand on the small of her back.

"Nothing's wrong, per se. At its core, their relationship was quite beautiful. They fell instantly in love; she left everything and everyone she knew behind to be with him. They would've died for each other, and eventually did. They were always together, even in death. Well, except for when Clyde was in jail. Anyone would be lucky to have that, the romance, the passion..."

"Not really a couple to dream about becoming. After all, it isn't just them. If it wasn't for that kind of love we'd never have any art, after all. It takes a fifth of a second to fall in love, so that really isn't anything too special."

"Well, thank you. You know how to make a girl feel all warm inside, like she was Sylvia Path. I'll be over by the guillotine, should you need me."

"A- Amanda… Wait," he called out, catching up to her. There was a part of him that was nervous about apologizing in front of a plethora of medieval torture and execution devices. "Amanda, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to sound so…"

She cut him off, "Cold? Heedlessly? Sterile? I like that one; it was lacking in emotional quality."

"Okay, it was. I'm really sorry. Please, believe me."

Amanda took a deep breath and looked him dead on. "Oh, alright. I wasn't really mad; I know the emotion we call love is just chemicals released in the brain and blood vessels of the nerve growth factor increasing, and all sorts of scientific goodness."

"Would it help if I got us some coffee?"

As Amanda thought about it, a smile formed on her face. "I've never turned down a coffee, and I'm not about to start now." Spencer smiled and held out his hand for her to take.

"If there is anything more glorious than the first sip of coffee, I don't know it." Amanda said, basking in the warm, black, aromatic liquid that filled the cup in her hands.

After a while, Spencer noticed his cup was nearing the bottom and they had not spoken. To try to break the awkwardness he felt, he asked, "Why did the chicken cross the Möbius Strip?"

"Tell me."

"To get to the same side." Amanda's smile quickly became a chuckle. "Oh, so that's one you've never heard before?"

"That I have not." Spencer smiled, pleased with himself, before finishing off his cup. He took hers and threw them out.

Soon after, they went out for dinner. By now, it was softly snowing and the temperature had dropped. It took them a while of driving around to decide, but they finally settled on a Brazilian steakhouse. Spencer became noticeably frustrated that he could not find a parking spot for about fifteen to twenty minutes. As they waited for their table, things were beginning to feel like they had that morning. They had started to discuss the Star Trek movie franchise. When Amanda began to explain why she liked "Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock," Spencer once again felt a bit flushed and the butterflies in his stomach. He did not know if it was because of Amanda or the fact that he had not eaten in quite some time. The only time he took his eyes away from hers was to taker her hand and intertwined their fingers.

Over dinner they talked about the newest podcast of "The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe," nomadic planets, as well as how The Mozart Effect was basically disproven and how anything, like chocolate may produce the same results. They split a papaya cream for dessert. Amanda offered to pay, or go Dutch treat, but Spencer turned her down, even after raising his eyebrows when he saw the bill. On the walk back to the car, she had her arm wrapped around his.

They sat in the car for a while before Spencer started it up. "I should have not had that last bite of filet mignon," he said, reaching to put the keys in the kitchen.

"I know the feeling. The pork there at the end was a bit too much."

"Was that what that was?"

"Yeah, pork encrusted with cheese. Can we not talk about food?"

"Yeah," he sighed as he tried to navigate back to the streets.

They had not gotten three blocks away when Amanda turned to Spencer, "I know this is going to sound strange but, do you want to grab a coffee?"

Spencer laughed, "Amanda!"

"What?"

"How could you think of coffee right now? You really need to start cutting back."

"Okay, I'll wait until I get home."

"You'd have at least one cup at home before bed, anyway."

"I'm sorry; all I want to do is curl up in bed with a hot cup of coffee and Tom Waits."

"Wait, what? Who?"

"Tom Waits. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. I can't really explain his musical styling. Was – Was that jealousy in your voice?"

"No," he yawned.

Amanda chuckled, "Aw, honey, that's cute. Don't worry, there's nothing between me and a married celebrity in his sixties."

"There was… I was not jealous."

"If you say so, dear," she smiled and looked out the window.

She had been quiet for a while, so when they finally got to a stoplight Spencer turned to look at her. The car ride lulled her to sleep, somewhere along the interstate. He patted her thigh as he drove on.

When they reached their destination, and he turned the car off, Spencer kissed her cheek and gently shook her awake. She smiled at him as her eyes slowly opened. "We're home," he smiled back.

Walking up the stairs Amanda hung her head, "Why couldn't I live on the first floor? I'm stuffed and exhausted."

"I feel the same way. I'm also cold."

He walked her to her apartment. She turned to him at the door, "I had a wonderful time today. I enjoyed spending it with you."

"Good, I'm glad. I always enjoy being with you." They softly kissed.

"I couldn't persuade you to come in, could I?"

"Not tonight."

She nodded and kissed him again, a longer, more sensuous kiss. He wrapped his arms around her as he reciprocated. They kissed for what seemed like hours, but it was actually more like a minute. Spencer got a hold of himself, and pulled away. "I should go. I have to get up early and if I kiss you again I'll want to stay, and I can't. I want to, but I can't. I'm sorry." Quickly he turned and walked away. He knew that if he looked back and saw her, he would have to stay.

Amanda took a deep breath before she went inside. When he heard the key, Reed ran to the door to greet her. She picked up her dog and started up her computer. Reed licked her face as she started to play Tom Waits discography on random. She went to the kitchen, setting Reed down and giving him a treat before heating up cold coffee and cleaning his Potty Patch. She took her coffee into the bedroom and changed into her pajamas, telling the story of what happened that day to the pup that was following her. She smiled, reliving every moment, as she talked. She washed her face and then curled up in bed, snuggling with Reed, as "Little Trip to Heaven (On the Wings of Your Love)" played. She drifted off to sleep thinking of that last kiss and the contours of his face.

Spencer ran his hand through his hair as he climbed the stairs. He took his contacts out and put his pajamas on. He was still trying to get his heart rate down after he wrote to his mother. He made the room as dark as he could, hoping it would help keep his mind from racing and he could get some sleep. Lying in bed he wanted sleep, but was having difficulty doing so. Part of him wanted to go back down to her apartment. He could not stop thinking about her, especially after a kiss like that. It was nearly an hour before he fell into a deep sleep.


	65. Chapter 65

A/N: Happy belated Valentine's to one and all. This chapter would have been up sooner, but the few chances I did get to try to upload, the site was down… again. It's ever so frustrating. I sometimes wonder if this is the reason why readership is down or if it's just that fewer people like this story/I'm just not good at this writing thing. This then makes me wrestle with continuing or just scrapping the whole story. Maybe I'm just frustrated, or tired, or both. I don't know. This is basically a filler chapter, with minor twinges of something more. The next chapter should be more entertaining and the like. At least, that's what the ideas floating in my head are sounding like. Hope you enjoy. I'm off to bullet point future ideas and start coming up with ideas for my friend's baby shower.

**Chapter 65**

Spencer had been thinking that he had caught a mild cold while they were at the zoo. A couple days later, his cold turned for the worse. After he had called into work sick, Garcia called Amanda to see if she could keep tabs on him. Naturally, Amanda was happy to do so. She only had a couple of clients to see that day, but the rest of work she could do from home and Juan was opening the salon that morning.

At six o'clock, still in her pajamas, Amanda quietly let herself into Spencer's apartment. Reed ran in and tried jumping onto Spencer's bed. Amanda set Reed on the bed and smiled at the sleeping man. She kissed his forehead and noted that he felt warm. She then went to the kitchen to make him some tea and soup.

Reed made himself comfortable, stretching himself out on the bed with his head on Spencer's shoulder. After about ten minutes, he picked up his head and starting licking Spencer's face. As Spencer woke up, began coughing badly.

Amanda rushed in to bring him the tea she had made. He took the cup from her and sipped from it until he was finished coughing. "Thank you," he said as set the cup on the nightstand. He finally looked over to her and looked confused. "Wait, why are you here? Shouldn't you be getting to work? Plus, I don't want to get you sick."

"I'm here because you are sick. This is part of what a girlfriend does. She takes care of her man when he doesn't feel well. Plus, Penelope wanted me to see how you were. Even if I only knew that you took the day off I'd be here. I'm still going to work, but I came to take care of you first."

"I'm fine. You really don't have to do this. I've been taking care of myself for years. I can do this." He could take care of himself while sick, and was fine doing so. He was happy that she cared enough to come, though. While he did not want her to see him at his worst, he was glad that she was there for him.

"I never said you couldn't. Now," she began to pull up the sheets to tuck him in a little bit better, "I want you to relax and let me do this. I'm going to bring you soup, eat what you can, and then I have to change for work. You can nap then. I don't want you to get fussy with me, either."

After she brought him the soup she made, she went home to change for work. When she came back, he had finished the soup. "Thanks, Amanda. It was pretty good. Though, Reed kept staring at me the whole time." He smiled at her before lightly shivering. He looked exhausted and pale.

She moved some hair from across his face and kissed the top of his head. "Here, I brought you these. Put these on over your pajamas. You need to keep warm." She set a pair of sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and a robe on his lap. He grumbled a little as he put the sweatshirt on, and then got out of bed to put the pants and robe on. Meanwhile, Amanda went to the living room where she grabbed some blankets and a bag she brought back with her from her apartment.

"One flat sheet just won't do," she said as she started putting the blankets on top of him.

"Actually, it's two. I lie on top of the other one."

"You use a flat sheet as a fitted sheet?"

"Basically. Yes."

She shook her head and sighed, "Oh, men…" to herself. She tucked him in nice and tight and then set the bag on the night stand. It had the logo from her salon on the side. "There are a couple Sudoku books and a pen in there. That should keep you busy for a few hours while I'm gone," she smiled. "Call the salon if you need me. Cell phones aren't allowed on the floor." He fell back into his pillow and smiled back at her, meekly.

He got bored while she was away at work, so he picked up the bag with the puzzles. After sneezing and blowing his nose for what seemed like the hundredth time, he finally opened the book. Amanda had left a sticky note inside for him, saying 'Get well soon!' with a tiny heart at the bottom. He reached over to his cell phone and flipped through the photo album. He smiled and stared at the picture of Amanda he took at the zoo without her knowing. He was halfway through the third puzzle when he fell asleep again.

He woke up having a coughing attack. As he was getting a glass of water the door opened and Reed bounded in. Spencer went through the dining room on his way to the couch. He took a pause when he saw Amanda. "This is new," he said with a raised eyebrow. She was wearing a nurse Halloween costume.

"Eh, I felt like it. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I couldn't stay in bed any longer. I'm going to watch the news." He sat down on the couch, wrapping himself in the blanket she had made him, and turned on the television.

"Well, I brought you lunch. Do you want it now or later?"

"I guess I can eat."

She set down a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup in front of him. "I also bought you this herbal tea that will help soothe your throat." Reed hopped up on the couch and watched him eat, hoping that he could get some of the food. Amanda made him the tea and sat with him for an hour watching the news. Every so often, Spencer looked over to her, still slightly in shock that she was in a skimpy Halloween costume. It was not that he minded, he in fact like it, he just was not sure why she had changed into that.

Spencer decided it was about time that he took a shower, so he excused himself to do so. Reed followed him right in the bathroom. While he showered, Amanda synced up her mp3 player, turning on The Black Keys, and began to clean and disinfect his apartment.

He came out with Reed and noticed that his sheets had been changed, though he only owned the one set he was using before, and he the room smelled of powder. He looked around for Amanda but could not find her, so he started to make some more tea.

Not a minute later, Amanda walked back into the apartment singing along to "Hold Me In Your Arms." "I was looking for you," Spencer said, taking a sip of the tea.

"I was in the laundry room and then I got my mail."

"In that outfit?"

"Yeah. We have the same size bed so I put some of my sheets on there. I hope you don't mind, you shouldn't be constantly sleeping on the same sheets when you're sick."

"I guess not. Did you spill talcum powder in there?"

"No, I disinfected and dusted."

"Oh. Thank you."

"You're welcome. It needed it. It looks like you haven't dusted in ages. Now, get into bed so I can clean in here. I got a pirated first edition in the mail today of 'Lady Chatterley's Lover.' I'll read it to you tonight."

Spencer nodded as he sneezed and went back to his room. Amanda smiled at him as she went back to cleaning. She made them scalloped potatoes with ham chunks and a salad for dinner. They ate in the living room in front of the television. "You really didn't have to do all this, Amanda. I appreciate it, but you didn't have to."

"I wanted to. I like taking care of the people I… care about." She had wanted to say love, but just could not bring herself to say it in that moment. He smiled at her before spreading himself out on the couch, his head on her lap. She looked down to his face, running her fingers through his hair for a minute. Before long, she began reading until they both were fast asleep.


	66. Chapter 66

**A/N: So, I've been trying to get into school for some time now. I finally did it! If all goes according to plan, I'll be a full time student starting in April. This means the sporadic at best postings will continue. (Getting admitted, enrollment, the financial thing has taken a lot of my time and mind lately.) I'll do my best to write and update, when I have the chance to, but school work is a higher priority. I hope you understand and enjoy.**

**Chapter 66**

The days came and went. Soon it was the Sunday of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Washington, D.C. Amanda and Juan left the assistant manager in charge of the salon for the day so that they could go with Spencer and the team to the parade. Garcia had organized the entire gathering. Everyone was expected to bring something. She was bring desserts, Derek was to bring folding chairs for everyone, Spencer and Amanda were to bring Reed and appetizers for a picnic after the parade, Juan was bringing blankets, Rossi was bringing the entrees, and Hotch and JJ were just to bring their kids. They were all to meet up at the Constitution Gardens, where the parade was to start its route.

Juan suggested he, Amanda, and Spencer should all take his car, since it was the best on gas and they really only did need one car. It was five thirty in the morning when Juan got to Amanda and Spencer's building, bolted up the stairs, and began banging on the door.

Slowly the door opened. Spencer stood there, groggy, in his pajamas. "What are you doing here? We leave in three and a half hours."

"I thought we could all have breakfast together first. Go shower and change. Then come down to Amanda's in about a half an hour, and I'll have my favorite breakfast ready for you." Juan smiled and winked at the yawning Spencer, before turning around and going downstairs.

Spencer grumbled on his way to the shower. He knew Juan would be back if he didn't shower and head over to Amanda's.

Amanda was already up when Juan got there. She had put clip-in green extensions in her hair for the day and was getting ready to take Reed out as Juan walked in. "Good morning, sweetheart. Spencer's on his way. I'll go start breakfast."

Amanda looked at him with a raised eyebrow, wondering why he was there so early. Slowly she said, "Yeah, you do that." She shook it off and took Reed out.

Spencer walked right into Amanda's apartment when he was ready for the day. Amanda was sitting on the floor, playing with Reed. "Good morning," he said as he walked passed her and sat down on the couch.

"Morning," she smiled, tossing Reed's toy in their game of fetch.

Juan came out of the kitchen with coffee for them, setting the mugs on the side table. On his way back to the kitchen he blew a kiss to Amanda, not watching where he was walking. The next thing he knew, he had fallen onto the floor, hard. He had tripped over one of Reed's squeaky toys. Spencer was trying to hold in his laughter. Amanda, on the other hand, was laughing so hard she had fallen onto her side. Juan quickly shot up, and straightened his shirt. He laughed as well, and then headed back to the kitchen.

Amanda sighed to compose herself. She got up, took a sip of her coffee, and sat next to next to Spencer. She nodded to herself, "This is going to be a long, interesting day."

"I was just thinking the same thing."

"Eat up, pumpkins!" Juan exclaimed as he came into the room with their plates, being careful to watch where he stepped.

"Strawberry-cream cheese stuffed French toast?"

"Manda Bear, you know me too well. I love that Paula Deen."

"And you know me well enough to know just how to get under my skin." Amanda said, placing the arches of her bare feet on the side of the coffee table.

He winked at her before going to get his breakfast and sitting in the armchair next to the couple. Halfway through their meal, Juan stopped eating and stared at them. "You guys are just too cute," he said out of nowhere. Amanda and Spencer looked to each other and smiled through their confusion. Before long they were packing up the car and heading out to meet up with the rest of the team in Washington, DC.

Amanda and Spencer were situated in the back seat. She had her arm around his and her dog in her lap. In almost no time at all, she had put her head on Spencer's shoulder and was asleep. "Well, that didn't take long," Spencer noted, with a smirk on his face.

Juan turned down his Adele CD. "I don't blame her. Poor kid got off of work, did the books, and then went right into trying to figure out what to make for appetizers today. I think that this is the first time she shut her eyes today. Let her sleep. She looks happy, must be dreaming about you. May I ask you some questions?"

"Um…"

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"I guess…" Spencer slowly said, almost afraid of what was to come.

"Do you love her? Mind you, loving someone and being in love are two totally different things."

Spencer thought for a moment before answering. "I don't know."

"You've been seeing each other now for, what, five months now? Officially date for just a couple, but all in all about five months. I think you do know."

"It's not that simple."

Juan sighed, knowing that as smart as Spencer was, he would have to talk to the man like a child so he would not over analyze. "Would you consider her one of your best friends?"

"Outside of the team, I really don't have that many. So, yes I would."

"Do you care about her?"

Spencer took a deep breath before answering. He did not want to answer this line of questioning, whether it was from Juan or from the team. He could not see an escape from it, though. "Yes, very much so."

"How did it feel when you knew it hurt her feelings?"

He closed his eyes tightly, remembering what had happened. He almost wished it never did. "It was horrible."

"Did you want to hold her, comfort her, and make it all better?"

"I still do."

"Does she just pop into your head for no apparent reason? Do you wonder if she thinks of you half as much as you think of her?"

Spencer nodded to himself, "Constantly."

"Do you smile to yourself when you do?"

A small smirk appeared on his face, "I guess I do."

"Do you find her weirdness cute?"

"What weirdness?"

"Never mind then," Juan chuckled to himself. "Have you memorized her features, her laugh, and all that good stuff?"

"I have an eidetic memory."

"Oh, right. I remember Amanda saying when you met that you seemed nervous. Are you still nervous around her?"

"This is my first real relationship of this kind, the first time I slept in the same room as a woman that wasn't my mother. Yes, there are times I'm still nervous. Are we there yet?"

Juan tried to not laugh. He really did not want to make Spencer uncomfortable, but he felt that it needed to be done; Spencer needed a little prodding to see what he knew he saw, and the team all saw. He had talked to Garcia before about it, when they had planned this outing. "Nope, almost, though. Do you use that pillow and blanket she made you?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"There are other blankets in the world. For all I know it's sitting in a closet or thrown over the couch as décor."

"No, I use it."

"Good. Tell me: what it feels like when you kiss her."

"I-I'd rather not talk about that."

"Does mini-Dr. G-man want to come out and play?"

"What?"

Juan couldn't hold his laughter anymore. Through it he said, "Alright, alright. I'm sorry. Just… do me a favor and think about."

Amanda woke up at the sound of the laughter. "I missed something. What was it?"

"Nothing, sweetheart. We were talking about how cute you are when you snore."

"I don't believe you," Amanda said sitting up and stretching.

"You do snore a little. It's very light. But that's what happens when you almost break your nose a couple times as a kid."

"Not that. I know that part. I don't believe that what you were talking about. You answered too quickly."

"How do you almost break your nose?" Spencer asked, looking at Amanda curiously.

"The first time I was in kindergarten. Someone tripped me as we were doing laps in the gymnasium. My face hit the ground first. The second time was a bicycle accident. That's why, even if I had the time, I don't work out. Luckily, I still have a decent metabolism."

"Still look like Lisa Loeb to me," Juan shrugged.

"Thank you."

"Did you have a good nap?" Spencer asked.

"You were there," Amanda smiled brightly.

Spencer squinted as he asked, "Is that a yes?"

Amanda patted a cheek and kissed the other. "I always have a wonder time with you, Spence. Whether I'm awake or asleep, I have a better time than just 'good.'"

Spencer smiled and kissed her cheek. Reed walked over to Spencer and looked out his window. His back paws were on Spencer's thigh, his front paws on the door. "Well, this doesn't feel awkward," Spencer said sarcastically. The pup's paws pressing hard against his femur.

"I hope the kids enjoy themselves. It's not like Chicago. They don't dye a river or anything." Amanda though out loud.

"I still don't get it. The Chicago River is green all year round."

"It's been tradition since 1961. The river turns a perfect shade of "Irish" green. Other cities have tried and failed. It's pretty cool, they actually put in an orange dye giving the impression that river will be orange, but when the chemicals mix with the river, it turns into green. The dye was actually intended to detect leaks. You see, that was the year the city began enforcing water pollution controls and a building near the river had been ordered to discontinue emptying waste materials into it. When the late Stephen Bailey saw the shade of green, he incorporated it into the celebration. It took several years of trial and error but they finally got it and without being detrimental to the environment," Spencer explained.

"Way more information than I ever needed to know," Juan rolled his eyes. "Thank goodness we're here," he sighed as he parked the car.

"I think it's cute that you know that," Amanda smiled as they got out.

Kevin and Garcia had gotten to the meeting spot not five minutes before. Garcia ran up to the group, and hugged them all. She picked up Reed and Amanda handed her his leash. After the hellos, Garcia leaned over to Juan and whispered, "So?"

He looked to the sky and whispered back, "Oh, yeah. I'd give it about a week." She smiled devilishly before taking them over to where Kevin was keeping spots open for them, about forty feet from the beginning of the parade route.

Within a half of an hour, the rest of the team showed up. Derek was putting on rub on tattoos on the kids, which Garcia had brought, just as the festivities were starting. Once they had all sat down, Spencer took Amanda's hand in his, intertwining their fingers. Jack and Henry cheered on the parade participants, growing even louder when they saw animals. The adults watched fairly quiet as each group passed them by. Reed sat, with his ears perked, on Morgan's lap, occasionally pawing at him and licking his hand.


	67. Chapter 67

**A/N: This chapter teeters on the T/M border, depending on how you want to view the rating I guess. So, fair warning, not as suitable for some young whippersnappers as some of the other chapters. I'm also quite sure it's not as 'mature' as some of the teen comedy flicks that we (probably) all have grown up watching. In other news, in less than one month, I will be a full time student again, so I don't know how much time I can devote to the story. I will do my best to keep up with it, but don't be shocked if there more filler chapters, shorter chapters, and/or more time between the chapters. It's been quite a while since I have been a student so I want to give that a lot of my focus. As I've said before, ideas are there but take time to build up to them. Now, with school, it'll be a little longer than originally anticipated, but it'll happen. "Tune in tomorrow – same Bat-time, _same Bat_-_channel_!" (Sorry, I had to... I love that show.)**

**Chapter 67**

After the parade the group set up a picnic in the park. Juan stood in front of Henry and Jack, "Well, hello, you two. We haven't properly met. I'm Juan. I'm a friend of Amanda and Penelope's." He stuck his hand out for them to shake.

Henry hid behind his mother's leg, but the other little boy took his hand. "Hi! I'm Jack. That's my dad," he said pointing to Hotch.

"So, Jack, how old are you?"

"I'm six!" He held up six of his little fingers.

"Wow, six, huh? Very cool age to be. So what is it that you do? A man of your distinction must have a very cool job."

Jack giggled, "I go to school, silly!"

"Oh, right, gotcha. Well, then, are you in any activities at school?"

"I play soccer. Dad's the coach and Uncle Dave helps him."

"Really? I used to play, too. How about we kick the ball around for a while after we eat?"

"Okay!"

The conversation during lunch flowed freely, since they had all gotten to know each other at Amanda's birthday. While Derek was sipping his drink, Reed took it upon himself to eat off of his plate. No one decided to tell him, though Jack did giggle at the sight. Every so often, Juan and Garcia looked to each other and made silly faces.

Jack seemed to inhale his dessert, wanting to play soccer as quickly as possible. After Hotch wiped off the frosting from Jack's face, he got a soccer ball from his car. The Hotchner's, along with Juan, Derek, Rossi, Will, and Kevin played a small game near their picnic area. Reed even joined in, though he was really just chasing after the ball.

Henry sauntered over to his godfather and plopped down in front of him, wanting to play. Knowing the kids were going to be there, and at Amanda's suggestion, he had brought some of his magic tricks with him. Much to the delight of Henry, Spencer started showing off his skill with small acts of prestidigitation.

The women watched on for a moment, nursing their drinks. "Is there anything cuter than a man playing with a kid?" JJ asked, not taking her eyes off of her son.

"A man, a kid, and a small domesticated animal?" Amanda responded.

"That would be cute," Garcia agreed.

"So how are things with you and Spence going? He rarely tells us anything about it."

"It's good. It's – it's a comfortable mix of wooing and comfortable stages… not the serial killer wooing phase."

JJ chuckled, "I would hope not."

"It's nice. I really, _really _like him. We haven't gone out since we went to the zoo, but he's been getting over that nasty cold. I actually really enjoyed taking care of him. He was so precious in my heavy pajamas."

"He was in your pajamas? I didn't think he'd fit. He's got, what, a full foot on you?"

"About that. The sweatpants were Juan's, so they were a bit big on Spence. He did fit into my Valparaiso University sweatshirt and pink robe. That's the college where Holly and Dan met, back in Indiana."

"Wait? Reid was in your pink robe? Oh that is too cute," Garcia smiled.

"It was. Since then we mostly have been reading to each other again. This time it's 'Lady Chatterley's Lover.'"

"Oh! Oh, my. Have you gotten to the… extremely amorous scenes yet?" JJ asked with a smirk.

"Not yet. To tell the truth, I was surprised he okayed that book. It'll be quite interesting when we get there."

"Are you going to act them out?" Garcia asked, intrigued.

"Penny!" JJ exclaimed, shocked.

Amanda chuckled, "I don't know about that one."

"Come on, tell us, are you and good doctor going to be bad?" Garcia asked, rapidly and repeatedly moving her eyebrows up and down.

"I don't think I'd tell you, even when we will. But, I don't see that happening for a while. It was only fairly recently we made out, if you think about it. And you can't tell me that once you found out we had, you wouldn't stare at him, trying to imagine it, and then not be able to look at him for the rest of the day."

"We're all adults, I think we could handle it," JJ before taking a sip of her drink.

"Well, we haven't."

"Have either one of you tried making a move passed the necking?" Garcia asked.

" I tried once, to ask if he'd like to stay the night. That was to a failure. He said he had to get up early. He wanted to but couldn't."

"That's so sad. You've been together long enough now, I thought you would have."

"Yeah, well, it's Spence, I guess. I mean, when you look at him, does that scream dirty thoughts running through his head to you?"

JJ and Garcia looked at each other than to Spencer, tilting their head to the left as they tried to imagine it. "I really don't see anything, just the Kinsey report. Not even a working knowledge of it, either, really." JJ whispered, squinting for a harder look. Amanda tried not to chuckle.

"Maybe we're thinking too much. Maybe we need to bring this back to high school. All Bender from 'The Breakfast Club' like, when we asked Claire if she'd ever been felt up," Garcia suggested.

Both women sighed and cocked their heads to the right as they remembered the lines from that particular '80s quintessential teen movie. They continued to stare at Spencer, who had no idea what was going on, too busy showing Henry his magic tricks. Amanda smiled as she looked back and forth between the women and Spencer, waiting for the visuals to him them. While she had already thought about what it would be like with Spencer, she knew her conclusion would be vastly different that the women who thought of him as a brother.

"Over the bra…" Garcia mumbled. Both her face and JJ's were starting to distort in disgust.

"Over the panties, no bra…" Amanda sighed. She was actually enjoying the picture in her head.

"And the Calvin's in a ball on the front seat," JJ finished. She and Garcia slowly looked at each other, horrified at the images in their heads. Amanda sat there, her chin resting on the wrist of her left arm, lighting biting on the nail of her ring finger.

JJ and Garcia both quite loudly and repeatedly exclaimed, "Ew! Oh my god!" They kept looking back between Spencer and each other, their hands covering their mouths.

Amanda tried to keep herself from laughing as the entire group looked over to them. "What in the world?" Will asked, confused.

"I have no idea," Derek said, shaking his head.

"I don't know about you two, but I just got flashbacks to junior high and high school," Kevin added. Derek chuckled and patted Kevin on the back before they went back to the game.

"Truth be told, I think we could have. It looked like it was headed that way. Or, at least to me, it did. Juan was spending the night on my couch; he interrupted us and the mood was shot," Amanda said with a shrug.

JJ looked at her sympathetically and put a hand on her shoulder. Garcia looked shocked, and then looked mad as she stood up.

She walked over to Juan, through the game at hand, and slapped him on the arm. He turned to her shocked, his jaw dropped. "What was that for?" Heatedly, she whispered a reminder of his interruption. He whispered back, "Oh, like I wanted to do that. What was I supposed to do? I had to pee."

"I don't care… Use the sink, steal Reid's key, anything but that."

"I'm sorry."

"You better be, Mister. Looking at me with those honey brown eyes won't help you out of this. Don't do that again."

"I don't plan to. However, you do know my plan to…"

"Shh!" she interrupted. She looked around and nodded before going back to sit down on the blanket.

During this, JJ got up and asked," Would you like something to drink?"

"Yeah, sure. Thank you." While JJ was on her way to the cooler, Amanda took the opportunity and scooted herself over to Spencer. "Hi," she smiled.

"Hello," he smiled back, putting the lid back on the bubbles. She was kind of glad that he had done so; she thought her ovaries were going to explode from the cuteness that was him playing with Henry and Reed. He 'magically' pulled a quarter out of her ear. She smiled and rolled her eyes. JJ handed her a drink and she thanked her again.

The game had ended and it was nearing time to go. Jack came up to Amanda, carrying Reid and petting him. "I like him. I wish we had a dog."

She smiled at the boy who was hugging her puppy. "Aw, honey, that's sweet. I'm sure he likes you, too. I tell you what, every time I see you, Reid will be right there with me and you can play with him as much as you want. In fact, if your dad is okay with it, you can hang out with us over spring break. My friend's son is visiting that week so you can play with him and Reed. If you'd like you and your dad, if he's free, can go with us to the zoo, bumper cars, and a whole bunch of other places we plan to go to."

Jack looked to his dad, excitedly. "Whatta ya say, Dad? Can we?"

Hotch wiped the sweat from his forehead with one hand, and patted his son's back with the other. "I'll think about it."

"Please, Dad?" Jack whined.

"Maybe. When I decide, I'll let you know and call Amanda to make the plans. Right now, we have to get home. Your Aunt Jessica is making us dinner and we don't want to be late. Do we?"

"No," Jack said, somewhat dejectedly, handing Amanda her dog. After packing everything up, he group said their goodbyes and hugged.

Once they were in the car, Juan softly sang along with the radio, putting Reed in the front passenger seat, leaving the couple be. Spencer put his arm around Amanda, resting on the back of the seat. "Did you have fun today?" he asked.

"I did. I like your team, and those kids were so darling. Plus, how can I not have a great time when you're there?"

Spencer got a nervous smirk on his face. "Thanks. It was nice you asked Jack if he wanted to spend time with you, Reed, and your godson, I'm sure they'll both like that."

"Are you insinuating that you'll be avoiding me that whole week?"

"No. I won't avoid you, but I also don't know if I'll be on a case."

"Good. You missed meeting Holly and Dan; I'd like it if you did meet them. They're like family to me."

"They're not like Juan, are they?" he whispered in her ear.

"I don't think they'll frighten you or threaten you with a curling iron, if that's what you mean."

"Okay, good," he nodded.

"It'll be about dinner time by the time we get back. Would you like to get something with me? If I'm going to be alone, I'd like it to be with you."

"You and Juan aren't going to do something together? Shouldn't you get some rest?"

"No and no. He has a date and I have a second wind."

"Alright, I'd love to have dinner with you." They quickly kissed and Amanda snuggled into his shoulder. The rest of the ride home was quiet.

Once they exited the car Amanda asked, "Do you want to go out or stay in?"

"We've been out all day, let's stay in."

"Okee dokee, doggie daddy. I'll cook since you have almost nothing in your apartment."

They made their way up to Amanda's apartment. Amanda went straight to her laptop as Spencer and Reed sat down on the couch. "What are you doing?"

"Putting on the podcast I didn't have time to listen to this morning. I'm way behind on it. I downloaded over seventy at first. I got through a little over thirty of them."

"What is it?"

"It's called 'Stuff Mom Never Told You. It's a HowStuffWorks show. The next episode I need to listen to is…" she paused to search for the episode, "It's called 'Do Smart Men Have Better Sperm?' It's about 20 minutes. I'll be done making lunch by then and I'll put on 'The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe' so you won't be so weirded out." She hit play and went to the kitchen.

"Can I help with anything?" he called out after her.

"No, it's a simple recipe. Thanks for asking, though. If you don't like this dish, tough. You're eating it. Just sit there, look pretty, and listen to the ladies talk about your little swimmers." He smiled and rolled his eyes at the phrase 'little swimmers.'

Shortly after the episode was over Amanda brought out a salad for them with fish. "Dave made such a heavy Italian pasta dish for lunch, so I figured we'd talk it light for dinner. After she handed him his plate, she put on the other podcast and brought out two cups of coffee. She then sat next to him on the couch as Reed had curled himself up on the chair.

A few minutes into the podcast, Spencer thought out loud, "I don't think I've met any woman that listens to this much science talk without actually being in the field."

Amanda shrugged, "You love it."

The corner of his mouth twitched until it made a smile. She was not wrong. During dinner he glanced over to her several times. He could not help but think that had he been the one stating all these facts, Amanda would look more interested than she was at that moment and he wanted her eyes on him.

She noticed his bowl was empty so she took the dishes into the kitchen. He stood up and walked halfway to the kitchen. He stopped there, trying to think of what to say or do next. When she emerged again, he blurted out, "Due to rising temperatures, weather fluctuating wildly, and higher sea levels, in three hundred million years the ocean has never acidified so quickly."

She looked at him confused for a split second before it turned into a smile. She walked right up to him and said, "You're so cute when you speak nerdy to me. Well, you always are cute to me, but more so when you talk all scientific."

"Maybe after reading 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' we should read 'Space Chronicles' by Neil deGrasse Tyson," he suggested, stuffing his hands in his pockets and slightly shrugging.

"Sure, why not? I have been meaning to get that and he is the coolest astrophysicist ever. I'd love to read that with you." She paused before joking, "I may just have you read the whole thing to me, if you plan on looking this good when you do."

With a smirk he came back with, "I don't think so. Lying next to you as you read about space travel is something I'm very much enjoying the thought of."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, "That's very sweet." She kissed him and he put his arms around her waist.

"It's your night to read. Why don't I go and change into my pajamas, and we could start early tonight?"

"We could do that. After that, Reed will need his last bathroom break."

He kissed the top of her head and went to change. She unpacked her food storage containers from the picnic and let them soak in the sink before changing into her pajamas and putting on a CD of Bernstein conducting Shostakovich.

When Spencer returned, Amanda and Reed were in bed and waiting for him. She patted a spot on the mattress next to her, indicating him to get in. One he got comfortable, he took his glasses off and turned to her. His heart started to race as she read the romance. He tried getting a little more comfortable but that failed. "Ouch."

Amanda stopped reading. "Ouch? What do you mean 'ouch'?"

"I got a spasm in my back. I wanted to move but locked up on me."

Amanda set the book down. "Sit up and come over here." He complied and she gave him a backrub. She could feel his muscles tightening as she kneaded. "Will you relax? It'll help you."

"Sorry. I've never gotten a massage before."

She rested her chin on his shoulder, "Why does that not surprise me?"

He half turned and put an arm around her shoulder. "Should I be insulted by that?"

"No. Not at all. While you have a very stressful job and I'm sure an occasional massage would help you feel a bit more relaxed when not working, get a lot of those knots out, you just don't seem the type to pay for one or even ask for one when needed. That's why I didn't even ask before I started."

The corners of his mouth curled up into a smile and they kissed. Reed quietly barked at them before mouthing at Amanda's hand. "Looks like someone can't want to wait to go out. It'll take too long to get your coat. I'll be right back. Be comfy. You know where the coffee is if you want any."

When Amanda came back, as soon as she stepped back into the apartment, she noticed that the music had changed. She walked into the bedroom and Spencer was sipping a cup of coffee. "The CD finished so I changed it to Vivaldi. I hope you don't mind. I brought you some coffee."

"Thank you. Well, Reed should be good for the rest of the night, so I'm all yours." She got comfortable in bed again and picked up the book.

"I believe we left off on the first full paragraph of page eighty one," Spencer said as he tapped the cover of the book.

Amanda looked at him and smiled. She closed her left eye tightly and looked to the ceiling. "Actually, don't think so."

"I could have sworn that was it. Where'd we leave off then?"

She smiled brightly at him and whispered, "Right here," before kissing him.

"Oh, yeah, there," he said nervously.

Amanda sighed and rolled her eyes. She opened the book and set aside the book mark, taking a quick sip of coffee before looking at the page. "Alright, here we go. "He sat squarely and well-groomed in his chair…""

After she finished the sentence, Spencer took the book from her and set it on the nightstand. "You just said that's not where we left off." He meekly smirked at her.

"Oh," Amanda was shocked. Slowly she said, "Okay…" She slightly turned to him and raised her eyebrow. She half-smiled and kissed him again, deeply this time, cupping his chin in her hand.

Without thought, he whispered, "I love you."

She smiled and whispered, "I love you, too. Just remember who said it first."

He softly chuckled and leaned into her and the kissing grew more passionate. That night was the first night Spencer and Amanda truly spent the night together.

Later that night, Spencer fell asleep with his arms around her. She held onto him, but could not fall asleep. Her mind was racing. She knew she had been falling in love with him for quite some time, but it felt sudden. Luckily, Juan had given her some protection for just such a spontaneous occasion. She wondered what it was going to be like in the morning and how it was going to feel the next time he left on a case. She did not know what made her happier, being so close to him or hearing him say those three powerful words. After an hour, she finally fell asleep, nestled into him, pulling him even closer. She held onto him as tightly as she could.

She could not see it, but he had fallen asleep with a bright smile and a moony look about him. He was glad he finally told her how he felt. He had known for quite some time that he was falling for her and he had confirmed it to himself around the time of her birthday. He knew when he saw how hurt she had been and how terrified he was that he would lose her for good. He just did not want to tell anyone before he told her, and he did not know until this night how to. This felt right to him, to tell her where he felt most at ease, listening to her read. He was scared that she would not feel the same and wondered how she would react. He was pleasantly surprised that she reciprocated. He did not think the night would turn the way it did, though. It was wonderful; he felt like he was as close to heaven as he would ever get. He found himself not wanting the morning to come, as it would mean that the night was over and they would have to leave each other's arms.


	68. Chapter 68

**Author's note: Super-super short filler chapter as I've been bombarded with school work & life. Every day is something new with tests on the 1****st**** & last days of our week, thusly I've been studying like crazy. My apologies. One of these days I'll get it together and write a longer chapter but this school thing is taking it's toll on me & it's still so new that I'm still trying to readjust my schedules & everything.**

**Chapter 68**

Amanda's alarm went off early the next morning. She woke up with Spencer's hand resting on her waist. He was still asleep, on his side, the arm underneath him draped across the top of her pillow. The sheets were tangled around him from the waist down and his mouth was ever so slightly ajar. She sat up as much as she could without disturbing him, turned off the alarm, put on her glasses, and looked around her room. This morning felt just like heaven, though she felt something was missing or out of place. She did not know what, though. The morning light was breaking slowly, moving across the bed. She smiled as the sun reached his face. Gently, she brushed away the hair from his face. She slid down a bit to kiss him. She then got up and headed toward the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead.

Spencer woke up to the sound of the hair dryer and music playing. He got up and put his pajamas and glasses back on. After he put on his slippers, he headed to the kitchen. There was a pot of coffee already waiting for him. As he grabbed a Doctor Who mug, which over time had become 'his' mug, he wondered what was to happen next. He wondered if he should wait for her to say goodbye, or just go.

When he took several steps out of the kitchen, the sounds from the bathroom became louder. He turned just in time to see Reed bound out of the bathroom. Amanda followed shortly behind, just about ready for work. She smiled at him as she passed him on the way to the kitchen, "Morning!" She then continued singing along to Annie Lennox's "Money Can't Buy It" softly, close to his ear, as she passed him by.

"Um, uh, g-good morning."

"Sleep well?" she asked from the kitchen, pouring herself a coffee.

Spencer went into the kitchen to answer. "Yeah. I always sleep well in your bed. I think it's the sheets. Oh, were you asking because we…"

Amanda interrupted, "No. I was asking because it's what you ask first thing in the morning. Also, because when I woke up you just looked so precious." She softly chuckled a little and sipped her coffee. "Though, if you want to talk about last night… I did have a wonderful time."

"As did I. This is an awkward conversation."

"Yes it is. And we both have to get ready for work. We should have a mature, rational, adult conversation about this sort of thing, but now is not the time. I think maybe over dinner. What's a good meal for a heavy conversation like that? Chinese?"

"We can do that. When?"

"If you don't have to leave for a case, how about tonight?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Not the invasion of Normandy, but sure."

Spencer smirked as he sipped his coffee. He lifted his mug a little, "I'm going to take this with me. I have to go and get ready for work. I'll call you later." She walked him to the door and they kissed goodbye.


	69. Chapter 69

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. I've been super busy, so of course I had lost the notebook I wrote this down in for some time. **

**Chapter 69**

When Amanda got to the salon, she started to sort through the mail. Juan sauntered into the office, "Well, I had a horrible date last night. He was boring. We had nothing in common. He wasn't even that good. He was super-hot though. I lied and told him he had to leave since my parents were coming over for brunch. How did things go with Doctor G-man after I dropped you off? Are we still on for tonight?"

Amanda smiled at him, "Spence and I have having dinner tonight."

Juan's jaw dropped and he looked at her wide-eyed. "You little minx! Tell me you did. Please, tell me he spent the night."

She looked back at the mail and monotonically said, "He spent the night."

"Did he just spend the night or did he," Juan slowed his speech to insinuate more, "spend the night. Amanda looked him up and down before sitting at her desk and looking over paperwork. "Oh honey, I'm so happy! How was it? Oh, I hope it was good for your sake. You've been without for much too long, and you've been together for so long I almost thought it would never happen. I don't know how either of you did it." Amanda just smiled at him, and kissed his forehead, before going onto the floor to get ready for her clients.

Morgan walked up to Reid's desk, "Hey, Reid, do you want to go get some lunch?"

"Hm? I'm sorry, yeah, sure."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You've been spacey all day. That isn't like you."

"I had a long night."

"You and Amanda have fun?"

Reid pursed his lips into a smile and nodded, then walked away. Morgan folded his arms and shook his head as a smile formed on his face.

"You're awfully quiet, Spence," JJ said, starting to dig into her lunch.

"I have a lot on my mind."

"When don't you?" Morgan asked. Reid looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Is there something wrong? Did something happen with Amanda?" JJ asked.

"No. In fact, I don't think things could get better with Amanda." After a pause, he admitted, "I told her I love her last night."

The entire table stopped and looked at him. Garcia fumbled and dropped her fork to the floor. For a moment, Reid had gone back to his lunch as if nothing happened until he felt their eyes burning into him. "What?" he asked.

JJ looked at him sweetly, "I'm happy for you. That's a big step."

Morgan leaned back into his chair, surprised. "How's she take it?"

"She said she loves me too."

The girls bum rushed Reid and gave him a hug. "You waited until now to spill? Shame on you, Reid," Morgan smirked.

"I didn't find it necessary to say anything. What happened between Amanda and I concerns only us."

"Oh, it is always necessary," Garcia said before taking a pregnant pause. Her eyes got wide and she blurted out, "You two did it, didn't you! " JJ almost choked on her drink.

Reid looked around the table wide-eyed, as if he had seen a ghost. "Excuse me?"

"You totally did. That's the only reason I can see you wouldn't tell us that you guys said the big three words," Garcia smiled. Reid shook his head, flabbergasted. "Fine," she said pulling out her phone. "Give me two seconds flat."

"Garcia!"

"Well?"

"Alright, yes. Do we really have to discuss this?" Garcia smiled at him as she put the phone away.

"I think this lunch will be on me," Morgan chuckled.

Spence sat on his balcony, sipping coffee and listening to piano jazz, waiting for Amanda's arrival. He was slightly nervous about their planned discussion; he did not what he wanted to say and was possibly more nervous about the information she had to offer. Quickly, he snapped out of his thoughts as the door to the balcony opened.

Amanda stepped out, wrapping her cardigan tightly around her. He smirked as she sat down next to him. "Good evening," he opened.

"Hi. Why, yes, it is. Aaron Diehl's Begin the Beguine? He was on NPR not that long ago."

He nodded and sipped his drink again before mentioning that dinner was waiting for them in the kitchen.

They sat on the sofa, food in hand, when he looked over her and said, "I have no idea on how to begin this."

She stared at him, blankly, for a moment. "That isn't surprising, dear. I figured as much, since you really don't have background in this area. I figured it was best that I start. That being said, yes, I am clean. I did the proper thing and got tested and I have always played it safe – even when I was three sheets to the wind I've made sure of that, for fear of pregnancy at the wrong point in my life. I've been with four people. Mark was my high school sweetheart, Steve was my boyfriend he in Fredericksburg that treated me like dirt and left me by leaving in the middle of the night with a lot of expensive things belonging to Juan and me, as well as my dog. The other two were only significant in the fact that I spent that time with them. I'm not proud of that, but that's the way it is. You, of course, would not fit into that latter category. I meant it when I said that I love you, too."

"I meant it as well. I have for a while now. I wanted to tell you at a better time."

"While generally not the best time, I thought it felt right. As long as it does, and it's true, that's all that matters."

"Good," Spencer said, trying to think of what he could possibly add.

"You make me happy. Happier than I've been in years. I sincerely and thoroughly enjoy our time together. I feel very strongly about you and what we have here." Spencer smiled and nodded. Amanda waited for a response, but he had gone back to his Chinese food. "Well, don't you feel the same way as I do?"

"I feel analogously to what I perceive to be the way you feel. Since I am not you, and therefore cannot experience your feelings directly, I cannot say exactly, because I can never know. Though, as an agent for the BAU and knowing you for as long as I have now, I can feel confident that I understand, agree, and relate to what you are describing, but it would be inaccurate to say 'I feel the same.' That being said, I do love you and enjoy being in your company."

She paused before turning her head back to her plate, "Well, that concludes that wonderful moment. Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"Yeah, sure. I just got the complete collectors set of Black Adder."

"Sounds good to me. I'm a huge fan of Stephen Fry."


	70. Chapter 70

**A/N: **Sorry this took so long (again). Life happens. I did warn good space-age may happen. I do feel bad about letting it go for so long without updates, but school takes up so much of my time & energy (it's a year-round trade school, so there really isn't a good vacation to be had). Anywho, hope you enjoy. See you in two and two.

**Chapter 70**

Several days later, Amanda and Spencer had just watched the Fritz Lang classic film, 'Metropolis,' when there was a loud knock at the door. Spencer was on the sofa, with Reed, and yawned. Amanda kissed his cheek before getting up and was almost got tackled by a small child as she opened the door. Hearing girly screams of happiness, Spencer walked over. At the door was a man, woman, and child he only recognized from framed photos scattered around the apartment. Though he had missed meeting the couple at Amanda's birthday party, he knew exactly who they were. He also knew that they probably knew as much as about him as he had learned about them, if not more.

Dan kissed Amanda's cheek before setting down a suitcase. He then walked back into the hall and collected several more. Spencer and Amanda had previously figured out the logistics of this trip; Holly and Dan were only spending one night, so they were to take Amanda's apartment and she was going to stay the night at his place.

"Hey, how ya doin'?" Dan asked of Spencer, extending his hand.

Cautiously, Spencer took Dan's hand, "Um, h-hi. I'm well, thank you. And, um, yourself?"

"Good, good. Jordan! Help me put these bags in your auntie's room!"

"'Kay, Daddy!" Jordan ran after his father, with a superhero backpack on his shoulder. Spencer plastered himself against the wall so that he would not, again, be run over by a child.

"So… this must be the boyfriend I heard so much about," Holly said with a smirk.

"Holly, Spencer. Spencer, Holly. …Oprah, Uma. I need coffee."

"Hi, Spencer," Holly said, shaking his hand. "I never got that joke, even when Letterman first did it. And when don't you?" She poked Amanda in the side, "Lazy."

"Right now, yep. Spence, why don't you sit down on the couch or something and wait for the boys. Holly will make us dinner."

Holly's jaw dropped, "It's my vacation, and I'm a guest. You're really putting me to work not five minutes in?"

"You bet. Let's not forget you're not a guest, you're family. You, my love, are also an awesome cook. Far, far, better than I am."

"This is true."

"So, get to it, honey bunch."

"You're lucky I love you."

"I know," Amanda smiled.

Holly turned her attention to Spencer, "She's a pill, isn't she? Really, go sit down. Dan and Jordan will be there in a minute, once they unpack a bit and get Jordan in his pajamas. You coming, Amanda? I'm not getting you coffee." She smiled and softly touched Spencer's arm then walked off into the kitchen.

Amanda kissed him and winked at him before following her friend. Spencer stood there for a moment, with his arms folded across his chest. He sat down on the couch, staring at a blank television screen.

The women had been catching up for a few minutes when Dan and Jordan came into the living room. Dan took the remote from the table and turned on ESPN's SportsCenter. Jordan sat next to Spencer, his dad's phone in his hand, playing a game.

When Jordan got bored, he looked over to Spencer, "Who are you?"

"I'm, uh, Dr. Spencer Reid." Jordan stared at him blankly. "I'm Amanda's boyfriend."

"Ooh, okay." He looked to his game for a moment, and then asked, "Do I call you uncle then or something? 'Cause, she's my auntie."

Spencer looked puzzled. There really was no proper or standard etiquette for something like this. "I-I don't know. Do you want to? It's really up to you and your parents. You could, but it's not necessary."

"Do you want me to?"

Spencer thought for a moment. "I… It doesn't matter much to me, I guess. If you and your parents feel comfortable with it, then you're welcome to do so."

Dan rolled his eyes and audibly sighed. "Spencer, how long have you been with Amanda now?"

"Officially, since January 17th. So, three months last week."

"Do you plan on leaving her anytime soon?"

"Not at all, no I don't."

"Then you're Uncle Spencer," he shrugged. "Holly! Where's the food?"

Holly peeked out of the kitchen with an eyebrow raised. "It's in here cooking. You can come and get it when it's done."

Amanda called out, "Messy eaters eat at the table or over the kitchen sink!"

"I don't like that connotation, Amanda," Dan answered.

"I think you mean: insinuation," Spencer corrected.

"Right, that's what I said."

"Well, I don't like ants or cleaning up after you."

"Just eat at the table, Dan. Geez, Louise," Holly interrupted.

"It's okay, Daddy, I'm eating at the table with you." Dan smiled at his son and went back to the television.

Holly had gone back into the kitchen. "He's cranky from traveling. So…" Amanda was scooping coffee grinds singing The Jam's 'Going Underground' to herself. "Amanda Maja…"

"Uh oh. Sorry. What I miss?"

"You were about to tell me something."

"Yes. Yes, I was."

"Well?"

"I-uh…"

"You forgot already, didn't you?"

"I honestly can't remember what we were talking about."

"Not surprised. Only around me you forget how to do this whole conversation thing. Ya know, you're lucky you have a smart man."

"I know," Amanda smiled as she happily sighed.

Holly rolled her eyes. "Oh god. Go get the plates."

"You know what? I'm happy."

"Get the plates, Droopy."

"Thank you! Spence didn't know who Droopy was," Amanda said, getting the plates and cutlery out.

"Please, do not become one of 'those' women."

"Sorry. For a while my brain was in danger of absorbing a dangerous idea: I can live without sex."

"You're still in the fun stages. I'm happy for you, but get over it."

After dinner, Spence was teaching Jordan how to play chess, while everyone else changed for the night. They were sitting on the floor with the game on the table, so that Reed would not knock it over by accident.

Once Amanda had changed, she sat on the couch, directly behind Spencer. She leaned her elbows on his shoulders and whispered in his ear, "You're letting him win, right?"

He whispered back, "Technically we're not even playing a real game. I'm just showing him the basics. We just covered game piece names and how they move. I don't think he's ready for things like the square names yet. I'm taking it easy on him while he's still learning."

"You better. He's still a child. Not everyone has that genius IQ like you did at 6. Heck, I get confused by Alice's in 'Through the Looking Glass.'"

He smiled and kissed her hand. Dan came out of the bedroom in his basketball attire. "Jordan, it's time for bed. Say goodnight to Auntie Amanda and Uncle Spencer."

"Do I hafta? I wanna stay up with them and play."

"Yes, you do. Say goodnight and go brush your teeth."

Jordan got up dejectedly and Spencer began to put away the game. "Uncle Spencer, can we play some more later?"

"If I'm not out of town for work and Amanda doesn't have plans for you, I don't see why not."

He smiled as he went over to Amanda and gave her a hug. She kissed his cheek and mouthed, "Say thank you," and gestured to Spencer.

Jordan went up to Spencer and through his arms around him. "Thanks, Uncle Spencer, for teaching me how to play."

"You're very welcome."

Dan watched his son head into the bedroom. "Alright. We'll see you for breakfast before we leave, right?"

"You betcha," Amanda yawned standing up.

"I guess I'll be doing the reading, then?" Spence smirked. Amanda closed her eyes and nodded.

Dan hugged Amanda a bit too tightly. "Ow… ribs breaking," she said, without breath.

"Sorry."

"No, you're not."

"Not really. You'll probably deserve it down the line."

Amanda looked at Spencer, who had an eyebrow raised. "Oh, we joke like this all the time. Don't think he's being mean."

Dan just nodded as he yawned. "It's love, just a funny way of showing it. Holly would be out to say goodnight, but she's zonked out." He stretched his hand out to Spencer. Once Spencer started to shake his hand, Dan pulled him into a bear hug. "I love you too, man." Spencer was noticeably uncomfortable, so Amanda pulled him away and out of the apartment. They left Reed there, to be with Jordan.

Shortly after getting to Spencer's apartment, they had crawled into bed. While Spencer was in the middle of reading, Amanda turned to him, "That was really sweet, what you did. Teaching Jordan chess, I mean."

"He wanted to learn. He's a good kid."

"Glad you think so. We'll be spending a lot of time with him. Ya know, I think when you're ready, you'll be a good dad. Won't be anytime soon, but one day."

"Thanks, I think. Can we get back to the book? I'm not sure I'm ready for where this conversation may go."

Amanda smirked and kissed him. "Anything you say, dear." She took her glasses off and put her head on the pillow. Within an hour they were both asleep.


	71. Chapter 71

**A/N: Apologies for the wait. Anyways, sometimes you have to sit through the previews before the action starts. Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 71**

The next morning Amanda woke up to the alarm on her cell phone and found a note where Spencer's head should have been. "Bah," Amanda groaned as she sat up to read it. She put on her glasses and read his chicken scratch the best she could. The note read:

'My dearest Amanda –

"Love knows no virtue, no merit; it loves and forgives and tolerates everything because it must. We are not guided by reason..."

Forgive me, I was called in for a case & didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful & I know you have a busy day ahead of you. I hope to make it back soon, before your godson leaves. Please, tell your friends that I'm sorry I couldn't see them off, but wish them a wonderful vacation.

Spencer

Jordan was playing with Reed when Amanda got back to her apartment. She smiled as she knelt down next to him. "Morning, my little one."

"Good morning! Where's Uncle Spencer? Wasn't he with you? Did you have a fight? Or does he not want to see me?"

"He was with me when we left last night, but we didn't fight and it most definitely wasn't because of you. He had to go out of town for work. He has a very important job that takes him all over the country on a moment's notice. He'll try to be back before you leave, though. Where's Mommy & Daddy?"

"Mommy's making me breakfast. Daddy's in the shower."

"Okay. I'm going to talk to your mom for a bit. Do you want to come with me when I take Reed out for a walk after we eat?"

"Yeah."

She kissed the top of his head and went into the kitchen. As Amanda got her coffee mug, she announced, "So, Spence was gone when I woke up."

Holly slowly turned from the stove. With a shocked and confused look she asked, "What in the world did you do to that poor boy?"

"Nothing, thank you very much. He had work."

"I'll never know how you do it."

"Do what, my pet?"

"I'll never know how you deal with all that. There is a reason why the man carries a gun. He's not shuffling papers all day. I know I'd be going out of my mind with worry."

"It's not that I don't worry. I just actively try not to think of it. Wives and girlfriends of policemen, firemen, military men, government officials, et cetera, have had to keep sane with that knowledge for thousands of years, trying to keep their relationships going. It's hard, but you try. You have to try to keep going throughout the day. And, to be perfectly frank, anyone can be shot at any time. You can be going out to your mailbox and get shot. In fact, you can just be hanging out in your house and get shot."

"I'm just saying he's more 'at risk' than the average Joe."

"True, but that doesn't change the fact. Wasn't it cute when he was teaching Jordan how to play chess last night?"

"Oh, most definitely. He better be careful. I want my boy smart, but not too smart for his own good. I tell you, you and Spencer are going some smart, weird kids. Cute, but still. Hopefully, more like Spencer than you."

"Oh, now, that one hurt. Thanks, Holly."

"No problem. I mean, don't get me wrong, a kid could benefit from having some of your characteristics over his, but overall, smart trumps weird."

"I'm smart."

"Not like that. You can be, on certain topics, like weird pop culture stuff. You do suck at math. Your entire schooling career was nothing but B's & C's in math."

"That's not bad."

"No, but you could have done better. I really don't remember you ever studying for anything."

"All that could be absorbed was absorbed. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I know. I just wish you applied yourself more."

"Yes, mother."

"You two will have some great kids."

"Who said we were going to have a kid, let alone pluralizing it?"

"You don't want kids? I could have sworn you did. Don't tell me you changed your mind. Or does Spencer not want any?"

"First of all, I haven't changed my mind. Eventually, it would be nice. Second, Spence and I haven't been going out that long. It's too early to think about it, let alone discuss the subject. So I don't know if he wants a kid or how many, if he does. I can't predict the future, so who knows if we're going to be together long enough to think about it? Which reminds me, he left me a note and asked me to tell you that he was sorry he left before the goodbyes, and hopes you have a swell time. That wasn't verbatim, I paraphrased."

"I figured. He doesn't seem the type to use the word 'swell' in casual conversation. Well, maybe if he was talking in medical terms. But, I just thought that you should know that Dan & I give this relationship the thumbs up of approval. You are now allowed to get married and have tons of cute, smart and strange children."

"Gee, thanks, I think."

Jordan bounded in, "Auntie, can you tie my shoe? I got a knot in it." Once she had finished helping him, breakfast was ready.

Dan was in the midst of sitting down at the table when Holly asked, "Dan, honey, don't you think Amanda and Spencer would have great kids?"

"How am I supposed to know? Slide the salt and pepper, Jordan. Honey, I don't know. If you're asking if I think they'd be good parents, they seem to be doing fine with Jordan. Why are you asking? Let them have some fun before you start planning showers and their wedding."

"Babe, I've been collecting ideas for her, as she did with me, since we promised that we'd be the maid or matron of honor and the godparent of the other's children. We were seven years old at the time. And I like Spencer. I think he may be good for her."

"Maybe. Look, I like him, too. It's not up to us, though. Let them decide and get a few kicks in while they're at it. If they stay together, decide they want to do those things, and then you and Juan can go balls to the wall crazy for all I care." He took a pause, then added, "Wait, this isn't your little way of telling me you want more kids, is it?"

"No, I just want Amanda to be happy."

"She is. She'd probably be happier if Spencer…"

Holly cut him off, "If you finish that sentence, Dan, I will leave you here and go on vacation by myself." Dan remained quiet the rest of breakfast.

While Dan and Holly packed up the few things they had pulled out of their luggage for the night, Amanda and Jordan took Reed out for his morning walk. "So, Little Ma, you excited to be staying with me for the week?"

"Kinda. You're fun, but you don't have any video games or nothing."

"We'll find stuff to do. And, since I have an appointment I can't get out of, you'll be spending today with Uncle Juan. He's a lot of fun."

"He's funny," Jordan said, as Reed tugged on his leash. He bent down to Reed and they started playing.

Amanda smiled at them when her phone started ringing. She did not recognize the number, but she answered.

"Hi, Amanda. It's Aaron, Aaron Hotchner."

A sudden panic hit her, hoping this call wasn't because something had happened to Spencer. "H-hi, Aaron. What can I do you for?"

Hotch could hear the slight weary in her voice that she was trying to mask. "This is a personal call, Amanda. I'm not calling as Agent Hotchner."

"Okay…"

"I'm sure by now you know we're out on a case."

"Yes, Spence left me a note before he left."

"Did he now? Well, anyway, I gave my sister-in-law, Jessica, your number. Jack's with her until I come back. It's up to you but, we thought it would be nice if the kids got together some time; to have someone their own age around. I know Jack would like it & he's been talking about your dog all week."

Amanda chuckled, "That's cute. I'm sure we can figure something out."

"If we get back before he leaves, maybe I can join you in taking the kids out for some fun activity."

"I'm sure Jack would love that. I was thinking the last day Jordan's here we would go to some sort of amusement park type of deal thing. You and Jack are more than welcome to come along. In fact, if they'd like, the whole team is welcome to join."

"Alright, great. Well, I have to go. I'll tell Reid you said 'hello.'"

"Thanks. Bye, Aaron."

"Goodbye, Amanda."

"Well, Little Man, looks like you've got a play date coming your way. You better play nice; Jack is Spencer's boss man's kid."

"Play date? Really Auntie? I'm a boy, we don't call them play date. You can be such a girl sometimes." Amanda rolled her eyes and took Jordan and Reed upstairs.

Dan and Holly were bringing their bags into the living room when the front door opened. "So, I turned on the TV last night. Couldn't find anything so I flipped to the Soap Channel. Don't ask. Now, I haven't seen the show in years. Come to realize I still love 'The Gilmore Girls.'"

"Ya know, that is a good show," Holly agreed as she got up to hug and kiss Juan hello.

"Juan, man, you're cool and all… I just don't want to come back from a relaxing vacation to find you playing 'Dream Phone' or 'Pretty, Pretty Princess' with my son," Dan said, with a slight joking smile.

"You're killin' me, Smalls," Juan retorted.

"Thank you, much better," Dan chuckled.

"Juan's good with kids, honey," Holly smiled.

"I know; it was too much estrogen for me for a minute there."

"Don't worry; he'll still be your little athlete when we get back." Holly kissed her husband's cheek.

"I'm the one that has to worry. These two knuckleheads already have me married off and pregnant," Amanda joked.

They said their goodbyes in the parking lot. Dan quickly hugged Amanda and Juan, after putting the suitcases into the trunk of the rental car. He then gave his son a long hug and a kiss on top of his head. Holly took a little longer to say goodbye, as she was trying not to cry. Seeing her start to tear up while saying goodbye to her son made Juan get misty eyed. After all was said and done, they all went off to their respective destinations.


	72. Chapter 72

**A/N:** Wowza, didn't realize it had been so long. I'm starting my graduate tests, which is like finals, I guess, but is sporadically over a couple of months. So between that, being sick, needing a new computer, and land of a thousand birthdays, I haven't had time. I wanted to make this chapter a heck of a lot longer and more action packed, but when I realized how long it's been, I felt I should rectify that a little and put up what I do have. Sorry about that, folks.

**Chapter 72**

Late Thursday evening Spencer returned home. Walking up to the building from the parking lot, he looked up at Amanda's balcony. The curtains were drawn and no light escaped. Once inside his apartment, he settled in with a shower. Newly relaxed and in fresh pajamas, he decided to see if Amanda was still awake. Even if she was not, he wanted to see her face before he went to bed.

He entered her apartment as quiet as a mouse. On the coffee table there was a light that projected a starry night sky on the ceiling. From her phone, Amanda was softly playing OMC's song 'How Bizarre.' She was sitting on the couch, bobbing to the song and embroidering by the light of a table lamp on the end table.

"Amanda," Spencer whispered, "you should be asleep by now. Why are you up?"

"Hello to you, too, Doctor Reid. Might as you the same. And furthermore, what are you doing entering a lady's domicile when she should be asleep?"

"I wanted to say goodnight and that I missed you. Of course, I don't know if I should be saying that when you call me Doctor Reid, instead of Spence, especially in that tone." He sat next to her as she set her embroidery hoop on the arm of the couch.

"Moment's passed. I just don't like being questioned about my nocturnal habits. After all, if this had been a night we spent together, we would be reading at this very hour. I missed you too, by the way." She scrunched her nose into a smile before quickly kissing him.

Spence cleared his throat; "What is that you're working on?"

"Just a little something to frame. I didn't want to wake Jordan so I came out here to finish it." The song had changed. She sang the lines "Every time you go away, you take a piece of me with you" as she handed him the hoop. Inside it, was the outline of the state of Virginia, with a little red heart where Fredericksburg would be. Around the outline it read: 'Virginia Is For Lovers' and at the bottom it had coordinates.

"What made you decide on this?"

"It's where we first met. I know it's a bit of a reach for me. I'm not that good, I know."

"I definitely think you're more than adequate."

"Um... thank you?"

"Superb."

"Well, now you're just trying to stroke my ego and turn me on. Please, go on."

He smiled and chuckled. "Breathtakingly amazing."

"Oh, I like that one."

"Do you, now?"

"Very much so," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, "my delightfully scrumptious good doctor." The began kissing until they heard a meek voice.

"Auntie?"

Amanda jumped back, almost falling off the couch. "Yeah, sweetie, what is it?"

"I don't feel so good."

She got up and went over to the child. "What's wrong, angel?" she asked feeling his forehead for a fever.

"My tummy hurts." Before Amanda could respond, he threw up down the front of her shirt. "I'm sorry," he whimpered. He then began to cry, partly from illness and partly due to embarrassment.

Amanda rubbed his back and in her most consoling voice repeated "It's okay" to him. She finally turned to Spencer, "Spence, honey, can you tuck him back in and stay with him for a while, while I change and get something to help settle his tummy?"

Spencer pursed his lips and nodded. Jordan took his hand and led him back to the bedroom. Approaching the bed, Spencer stepped on something and let out an 'ouch.'

"What's going on in there?" Amanda called out from the bathroom.

"I... hold on," Spencer said, and then turned on a light on the nightstand. "I stepped on a plastic stegosaurus."

Jordan crawled into bed, next to Reid, and looked at Spencer with his big brown eyes. "Uncle Spencer?"

"Yes, Jordan?"

"Will you read to me? Daddy usually does when I don't feel good."

Spencer looked around the room, "Are you sure you want me to read to you?" Jordan nodded yes. "Not Amanda?" Jordan shook his head wildly. "Alright, I guess I can stay for a while and do that. Anything in particular?"

"I don't know. Something." Spencer exhaled deeply and nodded as he tucked Jordan in tightly.

He was skimming the spines of the books in the dining room when Amanda walked by to get a few things for Jordan's stomach ache. "Do you think he would like a dystopian novel?" Spence asked.

"He's six and not you. My guess would be a no. Why?"

"I'm looking for something to read to him and I don't know what kids read. At that age I was reading Kierkegaard."

"Hmph, sweet. I may still have Ronald Dahl's book 'The Witches.' Might be all I have for that age bracket."

"I don't see it."

"If it's not there," she said walking into the kitchen, "it's most likely in a box in the closet, marked 'Miscellaneous crap.'"

"It actually reads that?"

"Yes."

"Should I be worried about anything I might find in there?"

"Not unless towels and my grandmother's landscape paintings would frighten you."

"Thank you."

"So very welcome, my love."

"Sometimes, I don't know about you, Amanda. I love, you but you can be a bit off your rocker," Spencer said, getting up.

"Fully admit to that. Even sometimes off the rocker, off the porch, and halfway down the block." Spencer chuckled at this as he made his way back to the bedroom.

A couple of minutes later, Amanda came back in with a tray of goodies to help Jordan's ache. She crawled into bed, next to her ailing godson, as Spencer finally found the book.

Once the book was in his possession, Spencer sat at the foot of the bed and opened it. "Spence, babe, what are you doing?"

"I'm about to read."

"Sit up here, Uncle Spencer, with me and Auntie. I'll try not to throw up on you," Jordan said, softly.

Spence made a disgusted look to himself before complying, getting in bed on the other side of Jordan. Like many times before, all those in bed had fallen asleep shortly after they had reached page thirty.


	73. Chapter 73

**A/n: I figured I should leave you all with a Christmas/New Year/whatever you celebrate, if you even do, "gift." I originally planned to make this one longer & add the "action" and whatnot into it, but bah, it should be in the next one, once I get all my graduate tests done, sometime. It's been super busy, as I graduate early February & it's the holiday season. Hope you understand and enjoy.**

**Chapter 73**

"Aw, would you look at that? They are just too cute, all snuggled together like that? If only it was their own kid between them," Juan cooed. He and Penny were standing just inside Amanda's bedroom doorway, arms interlocked, watching the sleeping couple and child. "It's not like they're getting any younger," he added.

"I wonder who their kid would look more like?"

"Me, of course," Juan shrugged.

Penny's laugh woke up Amanda and Spencer. "I'm getting disturbed by the sheer number of times I wake up to find you watching me, Juan," Spencer yawned. Juan just chuckled and batted his eyelashes.

"Coffee," Amanda said flatly.

"In the process of brewing, my love," Juan answered.

Amanda nodded, in acknowledgement, before waking up Jordan. "Are you feeling better, honey?"

"Yep. So... can we still go?"

"Alright, but you get sick again, that's it, Mister. Now, go with Uncle Juan and Penny; they'll get you juice while I lay out your clothes and take a shower."

"Can I watch T.V.?"

"Juice over the table, your tush on the floor."

"Kay!" Jordan then kicked the blankets off of them, wildy. He then ran across the top of the bed and jumped off, fleeing to the kitchen. Reed, Juan, and Penny followed him.

"Some people have way too much energy in the morning," Amanda grumbled, plopping her head back onto the pillow.

Spencer looked at her for a moment, then kissed her forhead. "Thank you," she smiled.

"You're welcome. Why ever did I agree to spend the day with the team and their families on my day off. Right now, I'd honestly enjoy just staying in."

"Techinically, you didn't even agree to be with Jordan and me, today. You got suckered into it because you're an amazing, utterly outstanding boyfriend. Aaron and I planned this for the kids, before you left."

"Lest we forget, you're also quite good at guilt trips."

"I am?"

"That you are. Plus, I have a hard time saying no to you, for some reason. Agreeing to go means I get to spend the day with you. Given the current state of affairs, that's probably the most enjoyable thing I could do."

"That's sweet. If we didn't have to start getting ready about... five minutes ago, I'd be all over you with the hugs and kissies."

"Hugs and kissies?"

"Oh yeah. Don't you doubt that at all."

"I won't, I've just never heard it put that way before. Thanks for the thought, I think."

"You betcha," she smiled as she got out of bed and began picking out clothes for herself and Jordan. Spencer went over to her and kissed her goodbye, with the promise of returning after he had finished getting ready for the outing.

Kevin was sitting on the side chair, fiddling with his cell phone. Derek was sitting on the floor, with Jordan, playing with Reid and sipping on coffee. Garcia and Juan were on the couch. "Why is everyone here?"

"Juan stayed over at Penny's last night, so we all drove out here this morning," Kevin replied.

A smile crept across Derek's face. "Did you really think we were going to let you play house this morning? You'll have to wait for the real deal. And come on, we want the boy to actually have fun on his last day here."

A look of confusion washed over Spencer's face. "Derek," Penny warned, lightly smacking the top of his shoulders.

"Play nice unless you want to play house and Daddy will take you over my knee," Juan smirked. Derek laughed it off and went back to playing fetch with Reed. Spencer shook his head and left to shower.

When Spencer returned, Derek was the only one in the living room, now sitting on the couch. "Now, where did everyone go?"

"Amanda is still getting ready. Everyone else is taking the dog for a walk. I stayed behind to answer that question since Amanda's in the shower."

Spencer paused and listened. "No, she's not. She's half dressed and putting on her makeup."

"Really? How... Why do you know this?"

"She's a creature of habit. She sings in the sower, but not while putting on her makeup and I don't hear the hair dryer. Plus, I've done the math on how long she takes to get ready in the morning and for dates," Spencer noted as he got his TARDIS mug.

"Are you two living together now and didn't tell us?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"Just sounds like it, is all. You know her morning routine, you're obviously over here as much, if not more than your own place, you have your own mug and toothbrush here, I wouldn't be surprised if if you had your own drawer or a spare go bag here. Considering you live just upstairs, it's the obvious conclusion. Any other couple, that would suggest staying over at least half the week."

Amanda came out of the bedroom, her hair and makeup were done, but she still had her robe on. As she kissed Spencer's cheek, she took his mug from his hand and sipped from it. "Thanks," she said, returning it to him. "I don't know how you can drink that." She then set off to get her own mug.

"Then why did you take mine?"

"It was closer for the moment being, That five extra seconds without is actually a long time. And now it's being prolonged since I'm answering your question. Hi, Derek."

Derek chuckled, "Hey, Amanda."

She walked back to the bedroom, "In five, I promise. Then I'll get Little Man ready right quick."

"Knowing women, that means more like twenty," Derek sighed, sipping his coffee.

"She means it. Five minutes, tops."

"Really, Reid? Let me guess, you even know what she wears and the color of underwear she has on right now," Derek said with a sly grin.

"Actually, I don't. Wait, what she wears? What?" He was utterly confused as to what Derek meant.

"Ya know, perfumes, soaps, shampoos, that sort of thing. You're here often enough to know, you have taken up a corner of the bathroom."

"I don't know, honestly. I know the notes, but not the names. I don't spend that much time in the bathroom."

"Hope not, you devil, you."

Spencer looked at him, puzzled, again, as the group came back in. "Juan, do you know the names of the fragrant body products Amanda uses?"

"Oh, are we going to be gifting? That's sweet, but you can do better than that. Anywho, at work it's Donna Karen's Cashmere Mist, home with family it's Estee Lauder's Knowing - her grandma wore that, days off it depends on weather, her mood, and outfit. Lotion is usually same as perfume, but keeps Aveeno and Keihl's around at all times. Shampoo and conditioner is Redken Color Extend. Body wash is Keihl's warm vanilla, except around Christmas when it's Philosophy's Candy Cane."

All of the boys stared at him. Garcia had gone into the kitchen to get fresh warm coffee. "How do you know all that? Penny and I have been dating for a long time and all I could tell you is that she has a lot of that stuff. That's it." Kevin broke the silence.

Jordan plopped on the couch next to Derek, Reed following suit. Juan shrugged, "We used to live together and shared. We still share pretty much everything. I just wear Burberry cologne and use a darker hair color level."

"You dye your hair?" Kevin asked, perplexed.

"Yes, I color my hair. Dye is such an ugly word, especially to professionals. But, honey, it takes a lot to look this good and young."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty seven."

"Big fat liar," Amanda said entering the room, true to her word of five minutes.

"Would you believe thirty?"

"Don't. Jordan, sweetie, let's get you washed up and changed."

Shortly after, they had all met up with the team for breakfast. As they all met up in front of the restaurant, Derek looked to his team. "I may need to ride with someone else from now on. Juan was playing Christmas music the whole time, and singing along."

"Christmas music? In Springtime?" Dave questioned.

"My music kicks can't tell time."

Jordan looked at Derek, "You won't ride with us. Auntie was playing weird music too."

Derek looked at the couple, "Mozart? Beethoven? Chopan?"

"Squirrel Nut Zippers, actually," Amanda responded, putting her arm around Spencer's.

"What kind of name is that?" Dave asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What kind of name is 'The Beatles?' Most bands have odd names. At least the Squirrel Nut Zippers had the decency to spell it right."

"Can we eat now? I'm really hungry." Jordan announced. Jack and Henry nodded furiously, in agreement.

After they all had eaten, and were just sitting there chatting, Garcia got all the boys rub on tattoos. She also helped them apply them to their forearms.

Before the kids went wild and crazy, they're first stop was to be the National Cherry Blossom Festival. As they walked about, the young boys seemed to be getting restless. In fact, most of the adults were as well, though they could aprreciate the history and beauty of it more.

"In 1912, Japan sent 3,020 cherry trees to the US as a gift of friendship. First Lady Taft and the wife of the Japanese Ambassador, planted the first two cherry trees on the northern bank of the Tidal Basin. Those two trees are still standing today near the John Paul Jones statue. The rest were planted around the Tidal Basin and East Potomac Park," Spencer explained.

By the time they had gotten to the more in depth history of DC, the kids had stopped paying attention all together. "I wish Reed was here. Other people brought their dogs," Jack grumbled. Jordan kept staring off into space. Henry had fallen asleep in his father's arms.

Juan had finally had enough of Spencer's crash course of DC and cherry blossom facts. He had sent Amanda and Spencer off on a horse drawn carriage ride, noting the romance of it and promising to look after Jordan. They were to meet back up at the same spot in one hour.

"While it was nice of Juan, I feel I should be offended," Spencer commented as the carriage ride began.

"Spence, doll, don't try to analyze this. Just sit back, canoodle with me, and enjoy the scenery."

"Canoodle? What - Can we do that in public?"

Amanda softly giggled to herself. She shook her head as she took his arm and placed it over her shoulders. "Mild kisses and cuddles," she assured him. "No need to worry, I'm not going to start what I plan on starting once Jordan leaves."

"What are you planning on doing? I assumed you'd be spending more time at the salon, but contextually that doesn't fit."

Amanda rolled her eyes, "I was right the day we met: You may be a genius, but that doesn't mean you know much of the world around you. Kiss me, you fool."

He quickly complied. "I don't know if I should have done that; it's not very polite to call someone a fool."

"Take it as a term of endearment that a leading lady would have said to her man in a classic pictures. You're my Cary Grant now, metaphorically speaking, of course."

"I would hope so."

With his free hand he took hers. "You're hands are always like ice. You're like a heat conductor in bed, but somehow, anytime I take your hand it's freezing."

"What can I say? Cold hands, warm heart? They like to be cold so you can warm them up? I don't know. It is what it is, I guess."

"You know, I never really thought of you as someone who would adhere to the existentialist philosophy. I'm not sure why. Surprisingly, I thought you'd be more utilitarian than existentialist. But, I must say you are warm; you're warm blooded to say the least. Popular definition describes a warm person as compassionate, friendly, giving, et cetera. I'd say that describes you. Your hands are really the only cold thing about you that I'm aware of."

"Don't try to guess my philosophy and ethics, Spence. I don't adhere to any one grouping, really. Utilitarian? Really?"

"Judging mainly from your bookshelf. Philosophy and ethics really haven't been brought up otherwise in our discussions."

"Not unless you count your bringing up of reading Kierkegaard at such a tender age as discussing existentialism. After all, he is considered to be one of the fathers of such."

"So is Nietzsche, whom you were reading the day we met."

"This is true. I still need to finish that book. I've read it before but I stopped this time when we started spending the night together. I did finish reading the Elmore Leonard I was reading at the same time... Sometimes my eyes and brain need the break from the heavier stuff like Nietzsche or Dostoevsky, what have you."

Spencer smirked and pulled her closer. They stayed in a comfortble silence for the reste of the ride.

After everyone met up again, they set on their way to a family farm, with fun activities for the kids. Hotch had made reservations there. He had earlier thought about an amusement park, but figured Henry was too young and small to go along with what Jack and Jordan would want to do. This way, they would all have fun together.

"Oh, uh uh," Derek groaned as he got out of the car and watched chickens run by.

"They didn't pick this for us... though it would have been nice to at least have been considered. So definitely not my type of outdoor fun," Juan said, with a raised brow.

"Yeah, yeah, get over yourselves and have some fun," Amanda rolled her eyes.

"Love you," Juan smirked.

"Right back at ya, babe," Amanda smiled. They winked at each other before everyone walked up to their hosts and guides for the day.


	74. Chapter 74

**A/N**: Okay, so, school is over now. Hopefully soon I'll get one of those career things, but while searching for one, I wrote a wee bit. Mostly it's just in my head right now. I'll get to it when not doing this whole adult thing of having to be around people, needing to pay bills, and the whatnot.

**Chapter 74 **

They began a walking tour of the grounds, fronted by the couple who owned the land. The eyes of the children sparkled as they spotted a large jumping pillow. Once the tour ended, it was already time for lunch. They ate outside at two large picnic tables they moved together. While cleaning up and deciding what was first on the itinerary, the boys ran off without hesitation to the pillow. This place was a very large, rustic playground and they were going to take full advantage of it. The adults planned on doing the same thing.

Everyone took off their shoes and began to jump around, laughing as they did so. Juan took this as his opportunity to 'accidentally' fall on top of Derek. Amanda was laughing so hard at this and watching Dave and Spencer try to stay balanced, she had to sit down for a moment. In this, she neglected to realize just how close Kevin bounced next to her. She landed, face down, on the ground next to the pillow. They all stopped what they were doing and rushed over to her.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Amanda," Kevin said, still in shock.

Spencer and Aaron knelt down next to her; Spencer rolled her onto her back as she groaned.

"Do you want me to kiss your owwie, Auntie?" Jordan asked.

"No dear, but thank you. You boys go play on the teeter totter or slide, but stay in sight."

"Do you want Uncle Spencer to kiss it instead?"

Amanda chuckled, "I'm okay, just knocked the wind out of me; go play."

Spencer took a tissue out of his breast pocket. He softly placed it on her lower lip. "You're bleeding," he stated, with slight concern in his voice.

"Thank you." She put her hand over his to hold them in place. He kissed her head and helped Aaron in getting her back on her feet.

"I'm really sorry, Amanda."

"I'm fine. Really, it's okay, Kevin. I know it was an accident."

"I wonder if the good doctor will play doctor later," Juan whispered to Penelope. Though, he seemingly forgot to lower his voice, as the res of the group heard. They looked over at him wide-eyed and shook their heads.

Amanda looked over to the teeter totter, then to the slide. They boys were not at either. She glanced around some more, but still to no avail. "Where'd they go?"

"Most likely playing hide and seek or something," Derek said, looking around.

"Derek, Garcia, Dave, Kevin... you take the slide. The rest of us will search around the teeter totter," Aaron said, going straight into Unit Chief mode.

JJ looked as if she was about to cry as she followed orders. They called out the boys name's as the scoured the area. The three young boys were nowhere to be seen. All the patrons they stopped and questioned in the search could not help.

They had been searching for a little over an hour. Amanda was getting frantic. "Where are they? I can't believe I lost him. It's his last day here and I lost him. I should have been paying more attention. I'm a terrible person." She dropped down to her knees and began to cry.

Spencer knelt down next to her, "You're not terrible. Kids wander off. I'm sure they're fine. Please, don't cry. We'll find them." It pained him to see her like that. He didn't have the heart to tell her the possibilities of what could be, how often he saw it, and its gruesome outcome. In fact, watching her shake and cry like that, he could not even think of anything else but that he wanted to help her to stop, to shield her from the thoughts going through her mind and even more pain.

She threw her arms around him and buried her head in his neck. He held onto her tightly for a few moments. He was as worried as the rest of them. The kids could have gotten hurt. They stood up together and held hands, as they rejoined the search.

"Hey! Guys! Over here!" Derek yelled out. They all rushed to the petting zoo area. When they got there, Henry was sitting in the mud, holding a tiny duckling.

JJ scooped up her son and held him close. "Thank god you're okay. Where are Henry and Jordan?"

Henry put his little finger to his mouth, "Shhh." He then pointed to the large hay bundles that made up a fort. Will and JJ comforted the boy as they whispered, "Don't ever leave us like that again; we were so scared."

Amanda and Hotch ran to the fort as quickly as they could. There, in the corner, fast asleep, they found the boys. They picked them up and headed back to the group. Amanda still had tears in her eyes.

Derek rubbed the heads of the sleeping boys. "Whew, well, now they're back safe and sound, I think we should get out of here. Looks like it's about to storm and this one," he said, pointing to Jordan," needs to get to DC to catch his flight soon."

They all made the trek back to DC and to a pizza place near the airport. It was yet another family owned joint. The matriarch came up to them as the scanned their menus for a hello. After a few short minutes of chatting, she brought the children coloring books she had behind the bar; she kept them around for the young members of her family. Each ended up coloring a page for every adult at the table by the time dinner was through.

They oohed and ahhed over the pages they had received, except for Spencer. He just smiled and thanked Henry as he got his first colored page. Amanda leaned over to him and whispered "Can you at least pretend to be a little more enthused? It's part of their development and we don't want to bruise the fragile psyche this young." He nodded in acknowledgement and when Jordan came over, with a page featuring Transformers' Optimus Prime that almost illegibly read 'To Uncle Spencer, From Jordan.' Spencer went a little overboard with the enthusiasm, momentarily scaring the entire table with how loud he exclaimed how good it was and thanking Jordan. Amanda chuckled it off. She looked at Juan and sighed, "just too cute."

"I have a feeling he's going to be really bad at action figures or tea parties." Juan smiled, "I can't wait to see, though." Amanda rolled her eyes.

After dinner, the team, and Juan, went back home. Spencer, Amanda, and Jordan were off to the airport. Spencer had Jordan's little backpack, as he was asleep in his godmother's arms, awaiting the arrival of his parents.

"Well, if it isn't the man with the great disappearing act. For a fleeting moment after I found out you'd left, I thought it was because you didn't want anything to do with us. Ya know, we are pretty cool," Holly teased Spencer, as Dan took their son.

Amanda touched Spencer's arm, "They're just teasing you, honey." With a yawn she finished, "They aren't cool at all."

"You're lucky we have to go," Holly smirked, taking the backpack.

"Yeah, yeah... Gimme some lovin'." With that they all said their goodbyes.

Amanda gave Spencer her keys, as she was too tired to drive the hour it would take them to get home, especially in the rain, which seemed to only be getting worse. On the walk back to the car, her arms were wrapped his and she put her head on his shoulder.

They had just gotten onto the expressway when she fell fast asleep.

Spencer tried to wake her up when they got home but she would not budge. After several failed attempts, he decided that carrying her, bridal style, was the best option. To his surprise, it was not as hard as he had thought. This is, until he got to the locked apartment door, which was quite the juggling act.

Once he had gotten her door open and stepped inside, he quickly backtracked. He pursed his lips, closing the door behind him. He looked down at his sleeping girlfriend, so peaceful and precious to him, he decided not to wake her. Instead, he walked the one flight up to his own apartment with her.

The apartment was only lit from the storm as he carried her to his bed. After tucking her in and kissing her cheek, he ran off to make phone calls, trying to figure out how to fix everything and how to tell her... if he could ever get the nerve.

After Spencer did all the things he had set out to do before bed that night, he crawled under the sheets, next to Amanda. He looked over to her, in her deep sleep, and wondered how things would transpire in the morning. As he lay, going over scenarios, Amanda slipped her arm around his waist. He let out a deep sigh. This was going to be one of the hardest things he felt he would ever have to do, if not the hardest.


	75. Chapter 75

**Chapter 75 **

Morning came much too soon for Spencer. He had only been asleep for a little over an hour when Amanda's kiss woke him up. Slowly, he opened his eyes, "Is it morning yet? Did I sleep through the alarm?"

"No, I just wanted to kiss you. You looked like you were having a not so good dream, so I thought it might help. Plus, you're cute."

"Thank you, I think." He looked over to her smiling face and furrowed his brow.

"What's the story, morning glory?"

"What?"

"You have a face."

"I would hope so, otherwise something terrible happened in my sleep and I'm currently dead. Glad you're there, though."

"Thank you, I'm happy you'd have me in your afterlife. But, no, you have either an evil plan face or a bad news face. I feel quite fortunate right now not to be acquainted with either."

"I, uh... it's not good news. Y-you're apartment... um..."

Amanda did not let him finish the sentence. She threw the sheets off of herself and ran to the living room for her purse, repeating the phrases 'Oh my goodness' and 'poor Reed' over and over.

After hearing the door slam, Spencer's eyes got wide. "Oh no... Amanda! Don't!" He began running after her.

When he got downstairs, her door was wide open. She was standing among an array of her things that covered the floor. She was staring at a particular void and Spencer knew why.

"Amanda..."

She slowly lifted and shook her head. She then bolted for the door and ran to the lobby.

"Amanda! Come back! You really shouldn't be driving right now..." He ran as fast as he could back to his apartment for his keys. He got to the parking lot just in time to see her pull out of her space.

He got into his Volvo and began to follow her. After nearly ten minutes, she pulled into the driveway of a cute but quaint home. She jumped out of her car and ran quickly up to the door. Spencer noticed she was unlocking the door, so he parked across the street and ran in the rain after her.

Juan was exiting the kitchen, in his pajamas and holding a cup of hot cocoa, as Amanda ran by him. Confused, he looked back and forth between her and the door. Once Spencer got to the door, Juan asked in anger, "What the hell did you do to her? And why are you in your pajamas while she's still in the clothes from this afternoon?"

"I swear to you, I didn't do anything to her."

"Then why is she crying in my guest bedroom?! And quit dripping on my hardwood floor!" Juan pointed to the bathroom, so Spencer could towel off. As he did so, Spencer explain what had happened.

"My poor little baby," Juan shook his head. "Go to the kitchen and pour us all some liquor. I think we all need a good spirit right about now and I have a few calls to make."

"I took care of the..."

"And I appreciate that, but right now she's in need of cheering up. That's where the alcohol and these calls come in. If she even wants to see you right now, you're not going home tonight, I doubt she'd want to even be in the building right now. Or even for the next few days, at least."

"I didn't even think of that."

"Of course not. You were a bit preoccupied being her knight in shining armor. Go get the whiskey."

Spencer poured three glasses and took one over to Juan. Juan then pointed to where the guest bedroom was while talking on the phone.

Spencer quietly entered the bedroom. Amanda was in the fetal position on the farthest side of the bed. He whispered her name and she inhaled deeply, preparing to respond, but nothing came out. He set his drink on the nightstand next to the empty side of the bed and sat down. He leaned across her to set her drink on the nightstand beside her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as her put his hand on her shoulder. "I didn't want you to see that. I took care of everything I could... except for you. I don't know how to fix that."

Amanda sat up, taking her drink in one hand and his hand in the other. Her eyes were puffy and red, with tears still slowly falling. "This is a start. Thank you," she whispered into her glass.

Juan appeared in the doorway. "This requires more than one double on the rocks." He walked over to her and kissed the top of her head. "I'm going to make some Vegas-sized giant margaritas. The girls are on their way with ice cream and the stylist travel bag."

"Are giant margaritas really necessary?" Spencer asked.

"Always," Juan nodded.

"Should I leave? You have all these people coming over."

"Don't," Amanda whispered, handing Juan her now empty glass.

"Since she wants you here, you better stay and keep up with us. I will not let you poop the party. Well, it's not a party, but you know what I mean." Juan kissed her head again before leaving the room.

Amanda flung her legs across Spencer's and put her head on his shoulder. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"It's okay; everything will be alright."

"I don't even know what happened."

"Try not to think about it right now. You're upset enough as it is. It'll only make it worse."

"It's too late. I've already thought about it a hundred times."

"I know. You just shouldn't be that upset. There's nothing that could've be done." They sat, cuddled as such, in silence until the doorbell rang.

They walked, and in hand, into the kitchen. The instant Spencer finished his whiskey, Juan handed them a margarita in the largest cups he had. He then gave a glass to the gaggle of friends that had come over, all of whom then promptly raced over to Amanda for a hug. Some of them obviously had already started their night hours before. Juan admitted to some that he gave Spencer and Amanda the king sized cup and "added a smidge more tequila," figuring they needed it. By the end of that first drink, most of the house was completely drunk.

Spencer had been pulled away from Amanda to meet everyone, shortly after receiving that drink. Around two o'clock, he was sitting on the couch, staring at a couple, as some woman talked his ear off about her husband and kids. he was not paying attention to her at all, nor the couple he was watching playfully nibble at each other. Not realizing the woman was in mid-sentence, Spencer stood up the best he could and left to find Amanda.

Juan was in the midst of cutting Amanda's hair, in the kitchen. Apparently, he had also colored it, as it was now more of a reddish brown.

"Why'd you do that?" Spencer asked, sitting down at the table next to her.

"Change. We always do this when something not good happens. You don't like it?" Amanda answered, looking sadly at him.

"No, I do. I just thought given how upset you've been and how drunk you both are..."

"She's fine. Fine and done. If you don't think she's fine then... then there's something wrong with you. She's a hot tamale and you should be the first to say so. Go be merry together, right now." Juan interrupted.

Amanda got up and stood in front of Spencer. "You like it?"

He put his hands on her hips, "Yeah."

"Good. You look at me more than I do, so I want you to like what you're looking at."

"You're drunk."

"Yep. I also have to go to the bathroom. You have another drink while I'm gone." She grabbed his face and kissed his lips before making her way out of the room.

"Every five minutes, I swear," Juan said, shaking his head as he swept up the hair on the floor.

"What?"

"Once she has at least two drinks in her, she constantly has the need to go to the bathroom."

"Oh. How long do you think she'll want to stay here?"

"Don't worry, it's not like this every night. She just needed to have a drink and be with friends."

"I mean, do think she'll ever be comfortable going home again?"

"Sweetheart, if I know my Manda Bear... remind me when I'm sober to give you a key."

Spencer spaced out, thinking, until he realized Amanda had been gone for over ten minutes. He looked around the house and finally checked the guest bedroom. She lay, or stomach, sleeping in the middle of the bed. He laid down next to her, on the very edge of the bed, holding onto the small of her back. He kissed the back of her neck, waking her.

She groaned as she turned her head to him, "Hi."

"Hello."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Doing what you did, being you, being with me."

"You don't need to thank me for that."

"I wanted to," she said, leaning up on her elbows.

"Alright, then."

"I'm going to kiss you now."

"I wasn't planning on stopping you."

Later that morning, Juan came into the room to put Spencer's phone on the nightstand. Spencer had left it on the coffee table. He smiled at them as the both slept, curled up under the sheets and intertwined with each other. "Oopsies. Well, if ever there was a good mistake..."

Spencer barely got through the first stage of R.E.M. sleep when the alarm went off. "No," Amanda grumbled and pulled the blanket over her head.

Spencer untangled himself from her and sat up with a hand over his throbbing forehead. "I have to go. I have to go home and get ready for work."

Amanda pulled back the sheets and looked up at him. "No. Mine," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I'm already going to be late as it is."

"Bah, fine. Go. Save lives. Be safe, my love."

They kissed and he got out of bed. Looking around the room he asked, "Where are my pajama bottoms?" Amanda, whose face was back into the pillow, pointed to the ceiling. He smirked and looked to the other side of the bed where he had found his pajama shirt and bottoms. "Are you going to work or are you going to stay here?" She mumbled into the pillow, but he could not make any words out of it. After a yawn, he kissed her exposed back. "I'll see you after I get out of work, unless I have a case. You and I will have dinner." She mumbled again and flailed her arm about as he left.

With having to go home and then deal with traffic, Spencer was a good forty-five minutes late. "Look at what the cat dragged in," Derek chuckled, seeing mess Reid was that morning.

"Spence, are you okay?" J.J. asked.

"Yeah, I'm just tired."

"Reid, my office." Hotch ordered.

As they sat down at the desk, Reid rubbed his eyes. "I want you to go home and take a sick day."

"What? Why?"

"You look like hell. You're hung over and you're no good to us without your mind being here one hundred percent. Is there something going on at home you want to talk about? You've never come in like this before."

"I'm just worried about Amanda. I had to spend the night with her at Juan's because..."

Dave walked in, "We have a case."

Once Dave closed the door, Hotch said, "We'll talk about this later. Right now I want you to go home. You can join us when you feel better. Garcia will send you all the information."

Spencer went home and laid awake in his bed, trying to sip on some tea. His eyes were getting heavier by the second. With concern he wondered how she was and what she was doing as he drifted off to sleep.


	76. Chapter 76

**A/N: Wow, has it been that long? Let it be noted: Sometimes, being a responsible adult can suck. Also, if anyone knows an easy, quick way for me to go back and edit earlier chapters, let me know. I swear, I will try to do better at getting chapters up in a more timely fashion. See you in 2 and 2!**

**Chapter 76 **

Minutes before noon, Spencer woke up. Still feeling the painful effects of all the alcohol, he slowly made his way to the kitchen for coffee and toast. After a long shower, he paced around his living room, trying to decide if he should pack a suitcase for Amanda, believing she would stay at Juan's for a few days. He deliberated for a few minutes and decided to go.

He sighed at the sight of Amanda's messy living room, noting the stillness. He picked up everything that had not been stolen or broken and put it in its rightful place.

It was in the hallway closet that he found her suitcase. He placed it on the bed, getting ready to pack. Starting in the closet, he grabbed a few shirts, pants, skirts, and shoes. He did not know what would work or what she would actually wear, so he took the first things he saw of each item.

When it came time to pack her undergarments, he froze. While they had slept together, twice in fact, he felt unnerved going through her unmentionables. "Why does she have so much?" he asked himself, holding up a black lace thong. "And what's the purpose of these?" He shook it off and tossed it into the bag, along with a handful of others.

In the drawer below he found her bras. Sitting on top was a white rhinestone encrusted bra. Utterly baffled and mystified by its existence, he marveled at it for a moment then took several from behind it.

"I will never understand women," he thought to himself as he tried calling Amanda on her cell phone. He did not know if she was still at Juan's or trying to keep her mind off of things at the salon, so he figured a call would be the best option. When he discovered her phone was turned off, he made the decision to go to the salon, knowing she'd have it off there.

The salon was fairly busy when he got there. There was a young man, in his early to mid-twenties, at the front desk, taking care of a client. When he was done, he looked over to Spencer and smiled, "Hi, how may I help you?"

"Is Amanda or Juan here?"

"I'm sorry, neither take walk-ins. Can I..."

"No, this personal."

"Oh, okay. Give me just a moment. Would you, please, have a seat?"

After a few seconds talking on the phone, the young man called over, "Sir? You can go back to the office."

As Spencer walked to the back he noticed a Chihuahua sleeping on the bed in the corner, which was built out just for dogs.

Juan was filling out inventory papers when Spencer entered the office. "Morning, sweet cheeks. I thought you'd be at work."

"I, uh, was forced to take a sick day. I'll be out on a case tomorrow."

"Have you eaten? You look hungry."

"I had a light lunch before coming here. Why?"

"You look hungry to me. I also thought you'd want to take Amanda out to lunch."

"I wanted to make sure she's okay."

Juan took a piece of the salon's stationary and wrote a list. "She's still at my place. Here's a list of her hangover foods and where to get them. Take my spare key and bring her lunch. I was going to do that in about 5 minutes anyway, but I think you should. I do want that key back later. Just because you carry a gun doesn't mean I won't hesitate to cut you."

Spencer rolled his eyes and looked at the list. "Who would... How... Why? This is disgusting."

Juan scoffed, "Amateur. Go get that lady her greasy, heavy yummies. Maybe even take in a movie. I would say no funny business in my bed, but we both know that's a moot point."

Spencer raised an eyebrow. Juan shrugged, "Okay, I wouldn't say that. I just wanted to call you out on last night's activities."

"How do you..."

"Sweetheart, I am the great, powerful, all-knowing Wizard of Oz. I also put your phone on the dresser this morning. You two were cute all cuddled together. Give me a nieces and nephews."

Spencer shook his head as he turned to leave. "At least one to start?" Juan called out after him.

Carrying several brown bags, Spencer stepped into Juan's home. He was surprised the grease from the foods had not seeped through the bags, making them transparent. Amanda's suitcase was still in the backseat of his car, waiting for another trip to be brought in.

The guest room door was open, but he still knocked, using his elbow. Amanda was sitting on the bed, with a robe on and wet hair, staring blankly at the television. He could tell that she had been crying, again.

"I brought you lunch. I have some clothes for you too, but they're still in the car. I ended up getting the day off, but I have to leave on a case in the morning." Spencer reported, sitting down next to her.

With a soft, sad nod she took the bags. Spencer scrunched his face at the spread: a large burrito, egg rolls, chili cheese fries, a slice of pizza, and a chocolate milkshake. "Are you really going to eat all that?"

"Yes, yes I am." She was still fixated on the movie.

"What are you watching?"

"It's called 'The Good Witch's Garden.' It's a Hallmark movie series. There's a marathon on right now. Makes me feel good. Hey, Spence, would tell me what happened?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"No. But tell me anyway."

Spencer sighed and Amanda began to eat. "You were sleeping when we got back. I didn't want to wake you, so I carried you up to your apartment. The apartment had been robbed and Reed had been shot in the head. I didn't want you to see that. I cleaned up a bit, called the police, and I'll have Juan help me figure out what you need to tell the insurance company was stolen."

Amanda did not leave the guest room the rest of the night. Spencer stayed right by her side, holding her, until he had to leave for work again. He wanted to stay with her, but he knew there was nothing he could do.


	77. Chapter 77

**Chapter 77**

Time marched on. It was early evening on the fourth of July, Independence Day.

Amanda was still staying at Juan's house. She had not gone back to apartment building since the incident, though she was still paying her rent. She did not even visit Spencer's place. When he was in town, they either met up somewhere around town or he would go to Juan's house. Spencer did not like this, he wanted her to visit, he missed being close to her and not having to plan a night together in advance, but he understood how devastated she had been. Slowly but surely, she was getting back to her normal self.

Spencer was expected at Juan's to celebrate the holiday. Amanda and Juan were sitting in the backyard when Spencer pulled into the driveway. Supertramp's song 'Give A Little Bit' was blasting so loud that he could hear it before he had left the car.

When he got to the backyard, Amanda and Juan were dancing. When she saw Spencer, she made her way over to him. She sang along to the song as she put her arms around his neck and swayed back and forth. He put his arms around her waist and kissed her forehead.

The song ended and Amanda took his hand and guided him to the table round table. Juan handed Spencer a tea as Amanda turned down the radio and put on the Van Morrison station on the personalized internet radio station on her phone. "Did you catch the big bad?" she asked as she typed.

"Yeah, this morning. We got back in about two hours ago."

Amanda smiled and kissed his cheek. She then picked up the small pale green knit piece she had been working on. As she looked at it, she sighed, "I'm hungry."

"Fine, I'll go start-up the grill," Juan said getting up. He looked at spencer, "After all, I do know my way around a good cut of meat."

"Ew," Amanda retorted.

"What?"

"Gross, Juan."

"Said the woman who's been sleeping with her boyfriend on one of my beds."

"I don't announce my nocturnal activities to everyone."

"You should. I want to know when my little godbaby is conceived."

Amanda shook her head. Spencer had blocked out the entire conversation. "What is that you're working on?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, a baby blanket."

"What? Why?" He at her, pale and wide-eyed. He gulped waiting for her answer.

Going back to her work, Amanda did not look at him. "Why not? I also made a Cthulhu amigurumi."

"I don't know whether to be amazed by your creativity and skill, or to be worried about your mental health," he said trying to shake off his thoughts.

"Mmm, possibly both. I did this amazing color correction, cut, and up do on a client today. Then, as I'm leaving for the day, I go to back out of my parking spot, but my keys were still in my purse. It was so embarrassing... and I was alone."

Spencer and Juan tried to contain themselves but could not help but laugh. She waited for them to finish before saying 'thank you.'

"Ya know, Spencer, Amanda must truly love you and trust you if she admits to that kind of stuff in front of you," Juan said from the grill.

Spencer looked over to Amanda, who was bopping along to the song and mouthing the words, smiling. It quickly faded as he watched her hands work the yarn. He looked at his empty teacup and decided it was best to get up and refill his drink.

After they ate, Amanda looked around the backyard, "One thing I miss about Indiana is that fireworks are legal. Can't buy liquor on a Sunday but feel free to blow a finger off via a Roman Candle."

"You can't buy liquor on a Sunday? That's just dumb," Juan scoffed.

"Don't look at me, I don't write the legislature. They also are one of the, I think it's five, states that want to get rid of the licenses for cosmetologists, among other professions."

"Now that is just unsafe," Juan said as he opened a bottle of wine.

Amanda shrugged as she got up to put the plates in the kitchen. Spence grabbed the condiments from the table and followed her in to help get the ice cream. When they were finally alone Spence asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why? Do I seem off to you?"

"No, you just... never mind. So, um, my lease is up in August."

"Okay. Are you thinking of renewing? Would be a pain to move all that stuff. Oh! Wait right here." Amanda dashed off to her bed room.

Spencer sighed and whispered to himself, "Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to move in to a new place with me."

When Amanda came back, she handed Spencer a flash drive. "What's this?" he asked, staring at the bejeweled heart-shaped memory stick in his hand.

"A little something for you when you're on the road. I got really bored and missed you while you were gone so I made that. Normally, I would have Reed but..." her voice trailed off as she wrung her hands.

"Yeah," he said softly. He put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you."

She smiled up at him. "You're welcome. Now, let's get back out there before Juan comes in, wondering if we're partaking in naked fun times."

"I wouldn't doubt that Juan listens at the door, checking to see if we're actually sleeping. Well, unless he's entertaining his own company."

"He only spends the full night at friends homes and never brings guys home. He usually makes some silly excuse to leave early when he... visits a gentleman friend. He's been seeing someone for a month now, which is new. He usually doesn't keep them this long. I could see him with his ear to my door, but it hasn't happened since I haven't gotten chewed out since nine out of ten times we're reading until we doze off.

When they got back to the patio, there was a young man sitting with Juan. "Amanda, Spencer, this is Colin."

They all shook hands and said their hellos. Amanda pulled Juan into a sidebar. "So, this is the new man you were telling me about, huh?" Juan nodded. "He does kind of look like Johnny Oduya. Good job."

"Chocolate and vanilla swirl is one of my favorites," Juan chuckled.

"So, um, Colin, what's you're line?" Amanda asked, as she and Juan rejoined the table.

"I'm a physical education teacher over at James Monroe."

"He teaches physical education," Juan repeated, with a smirk.

"We heard him," Amanda responded, trying ignore his smile.

"It's a really good school. They have black and white photography, fashion marketing, and Mandarin. When you guys have babies, I'd send them there," Juan mentioned, studying his nails.

"Are you guys trying?" Colin inquired.

"No," both Amanda and Spencer resounded, simultaneously.

"Oh, I just thought since..."

Amanda cut him off, "Juan's just been dying for me to have a baby since Spence & I met. I been hearing this day in and out, and it hasn't been a year. Part of me thinks it's so he could buy noisy toys and play dress up."

Juan though for a moment, "Partly. Partly because you two would make adorable nerdy babies, ya know, after that whole undercooked pot roast thing all babies look like right when they're born."

"Speaking of nerdy, Colin, you up for a game of cards?"

"Sure... I guess."

Amanda smiled brightly and ran inside. When she returned she placed the popular game 'Munchkin' on the table.

They played until it was nearing midnight. Afterwards, Juan and Colin had gone upstairs, leaving the cleaning up to be done by Amanda and Spencer.

Amanda sang 'Time In A Bottle' to Spence as she washed dishes and he dried. He kept trying to think of another way to bring up moving in together, but he was having a difficult time.

Spencer decided to spend the night. He and Amanda were so tired by that point that they did not read, but instead watched PBS until they had nodded off.

Spencer woke up alone the next morning. He could hear loud music coming from the kitchen, so he decided to follow. Amanda and Juan were in the middle of the room dancing to 'My Sharona' as Colin danced and played air guitar, while standing on the chair. Spencer leaned himself against the archway and watched. He loved that Amanda seemed so happy again. He hoped it meant she could possibly think of moving out, preferably with him.

There was a commercial after the song, so Colin turned down the radio and stepped back onto the floor. Spencer walked into the room, "Good morning."

"Morning, sweet peach," Juan answered, and blew him a kiss.

Amanda chuckled and handed Spencer a coffee. "We didn't wake you did we?"

"No."

"Good, you probably needed that extra rest. Breakfast will be up in a few. Have a seat." With that, Amanda lightly patted Spencer's backside and took a seat at the table.

Colin left after breakfast. Spencer sipped his coffee as he watched Amanda get ready for the day. "Why are you bring that with you? Won't you be busy with clients?" he inquired, pointing to the baby blanket in progress that she was gently folding into a bag.

"I can work on it during lunch, or the times I still have on the books for when I took Reed out," she said, casually. "I like this color. I might make a little hat and booties to match," she added.

Spencer shook his head and looked at his watch. "I need to get going." He gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you soon."

"Soon," she repeated.

On his way to work, Spencer fiddled with the USB she have given to him. He wondered why she was making baby items, when no one she knew needed them. More importantly, he thought about just how to go about asking his love to leave her best friends home and be with him.


	78. Chapter 78

**Chapter 78**

"Reciting pi?" Morgan smirked. Reid was standing in front of the coffeemaker, seemingly talking to himself.

"Hm? No; I'm trying to figure out how to broach a subject with Amanda," he responded, stepping to the side, so that Derek could get his coffee.

"I thought you could, and do, talk about anything and everything with her. Wait, don't tell me... you're going to ask her to marry you. My man. Not even a year, too. Guess that's what happens when you're really in love: you want forever to start as soon as possible."

"Not exactly, no. I wasn't even thinking about that. Oh, I hope she doesn't think that was what I meant. No. I just - why would you say that? We've only been dating six months and eighteen days."

"Reid, I've known chicks who thought we were a couple on our first date. This one, I'll never forget, I swear by the end of two weeks, she moved in with me without me even knowing it."

"You dated a girl for two weeks?" Reid interjected.

"Hey now. C'mon. Anyway, I let that relationship go on too long. We got fish; one day hers wound up dead. Dude, she locked the other one in the closet."

They both laughed for a moment. "How long did you end up staying with her?"

"Six long months."

"I can't believe you ever had a girlfriend." Reid joked, as they walked back to their desks.

"Seriously?" Derek paused before asking, "So why are you having a hard time talking to Amanda? Is it about that robbery case?"

"That's closed. The robber was arrested on a separate charge. The police recovered some of her things, the rest was covered by her insurance. She's doing better. Reed's death really took a toll on her but she's... she's doing better."

"Then what's up?"

"I- She still won't step foot in our building."

"Well, that's understandable."

"Maybe it would be best for her mental health that I move when my lease is up next month."

"Sick of seeing Juan all the time, huh?" Derek snickered.

"Yes... no! Well, maybe a little. That's not the point. My point was that I don't think she'll ever get to a point to where she'd even visit, let alone... I want her to move in with me, okay?"

"Amanda, for some reason, really loves you. Don't ask me why," Derek said with a smirk. "I could see her jumping all over that in a heartbeat. You're practically living together, anyway."

"She's happy living with Juan. How do I ask her to leave that?"

"They work together and are best friends. I doubt you'd be moving so far away that any of that would change. We're talking about Amanda here. Just ask her."

"It's a big step. I want to do this right."

"Ask JJ and Garcia. They're good friends with her. They'll have a better insight and you know they'll want to voice their opinion on this."

"Garcia and I are did plan on having lunch together today." He let out a deep sigh. "I'll never understand woman."

"No man really does. Hey, when you two do move in together, where are you going to put all your babies - the books?"

Reid shot off a rubber band at Morgan. With a smile on each of their faces, they got back to work.

A few hours later, Garcia walked up to Reid. "So, Boy Wonder, are you ready to partake in the incomparable company that is I?" she smiled.

As he got up to get his bag, Derek threw a pen at him. Reid threw it back at him, as he passed Derek's desk.

When they sat down at the restaurant, Reid noticed the knitting needles poking out of Garcia's bag. "Amanda's working on a knitting project, too," he mentioned, gesturing to her bag.

"Oh, is she?"

"A baby blanket. Now, she wants to make a matching hat and shoes. She doesn't have anyone to give it to, I think." Me muttered, "I hope it's not for her."

"Aw."

"You're really going to 'aw' that?"

"Relax, my little buttercream cupcake. As adorable a child I think you two would make, I don't think that's the case. Amanda would tell you before she started making baby things for a little genius. She probably just saw a pattern she fell in love with and had to do it. I've done that. Do you honestly think I had the time to make Henry all those cute little things from the time I found out JJ was going to have a bouncing baby boy? A lot of them I had already had done for a long time, all nestled away, because I couldn't resist the cute."

"That does sound like something Amanda would do," he smiled.

"Honey, that's all crafters." After taking a bite of her lunch, she asked, "Did you guys do anything yesterday for the holiday?"

"We stayed in. We met Colin, Juan's boyfriend. I think that they're dating. He seems like a decent guy," he shrugged."

"Oh, good. Did you get to spend any time alone with Amanda?"

"A bit. I-we... So, my lease is up next month. I tried asking her to move with me."

"Aw! And you were hoping she'd go with to help pick out your future home together? That's so cute. Every so often, Kevin and I go to this thing called a 'parade of homes.' It's basically a whole subdivision of open houses, completely furnished, for sale. We like to whisper what we like, and don't, and what we do with the rooms. Wait, what do you mean, 'tried?'"

"I couldn't bring myself to say anything other than that my lease is up."

"And you are definitely moving out, no matter what?"

"Yes."

"Well, I see two options. One is: just keep trying. Eventually, you'll be able to get it out. You're already pushing it, what with all the paperwork you'll need to do. That is, if you find a place quick and it's move-in ready. The other option is to ask her to help you in your looking. That way, you'll see what she likes. Then, you could surprise her with keys. You could then say you bought it as a starter house for the two of you, or you can go back to splitting time between both of your places. Seems to me like you'd prefer Option A, though."

"I would prefer it, I just wish I knew if she would want to move in with me."

Garcia smiled and patted the back of his hand. "You love each other. You'll figure something out."


	79. Chapter 79

**Chapter 79**

After stopping at the local coffee-house, Spencer went to pick Amanda up from work, for a movie and pie date. They were both fans of the show 'Mystery Science Theater 3000;' so when they found out Rfftrax, which was put on by the same guys, was doing another live broadcast across the country, they immediately bought tickets.

The receptionist sighed as he heard the door open. "We've stopped clients for the night. If you'd like to make an appointment, I'll be with you in a moment." He didn't even look up from highlighting the inventory sheet, as he counted what was in the new delivery.

"Amanda had told me to come in, actually. I'm here to pick her up for our date."

"Oh. Spencer, right? Well. Why don't you take a seat? She's finishing up with her client. I'll let her know you're here."

Spencer pursed his lips and complied. The receptionist went back to inventory as Spencer casually flipped through several style books.

Amanda only found out about his arrival after walking her client to the front desk. "Thinking about chopping off those lovely locks, gentle doctor?"

He looked at her, "Just waiting to bask in your effervescent personality. Traffic wasn't too bad, so I stopped for coffee."

She thanked him with a kiss. "And it's perfect, too. Just like you. Man after my own heart, I tell you. Keep up with that kind of talking and with the bringing of coffee... Remind me why I haven't married you. Or, at least, just ravished you completely the moment I set eyes on you." A devilish grin slid across her face. She winked as she gestured to the door.

Waiting for him to until the car door, Amanda noticed how lovely this midsummer evening really was. After buckling in, her eyes continued to gaze to the sky. "When the stars were right, they could plunge from world to world through the sky."

"Have you been reading a lot of Lovecraft lately?"

"Maybe."

"Amanda, you recently knitted a Cthulhu and now you just quoted 'Call of Cthulhu.' I know you well enough to know you're going through a kick."

"No, I didn't."

"What? Yes, you did."

"Quote? Yes. Knit? No. I crocheted a stuffy of that particular Deep One. He was the only one I could find a pattern for. But, there is a difference."

"I apologize. Will crafted work?"

"Thank you. Yes. And it was two. Different sizes. Nothing wrong with that."

"I didn't say there was."

"Also happen to like Lovecraft stories."

"I can believe that. While not well-known in his time, he's now widely known as one of the geniuses of fantasy - after Poe, of course."

"Well, even he was influenced by Poe, originally. Not as much as Lord Dunsany, I think. Even without counting the writing styles, Poe and Lovecraft did have a lot in common. Though I made the amigurumis because it was cute and I wanted my room at Juan's to feel a bit more like me and a little less like a guest room."

"Do you have any plans for what you're going to do next?"

"Next what? Project? No. I try to only do one at a time, if I can. I'm still working on the blanket. Good thing I started it too, one of the girls is pregnant."

"I meant after you leave Juan's. You don't plan on living there forever, right?"

"Not on your life. We love each other to death, but we figured out we can only live together in spurts. With our different lifestyles and working together, it's for the best to only live together during transitional periods in our lives. I wouldn't doubt he'd also like to enjoy Colin's company wherever in the house he chooses. Quite honestly, I don't want to be in the way of that budding relationship." After a pause, she added, "Maybe I should move to Arkham and study at Miskatonic University."

They both laughed as Spencer pulled into a parking spot in front of the theater. "There isn't a lot of people here," he noted.

"There's still about a half an hour. Maybe more will show up closer to start time. Come on, I'll buy you a Coke."

They were the first ones in the theater, so they had their choice of seats. Amanda, when given this choice, always picked the back row, slightly off absolute middle. After getting comfortable, the Rifftrax preview trivia pages and music. Amanda smiled and quietly sang along to 'Sparkly Vampires.' Nearly ten minutes later, patrons began to trickle in.

Their laughter began with the shorts before the feature, and did not stop until the end credits. They had decided to only go a block down for pie.

They talked about their favorite episodes of 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' until their pies came. "I really nights like this, being with you," he stated, looking at his plate.

"What about the days?"

"I like those better. Those are pretty rare. W-Would you - would you like a bite of my pie?"

"Yes, I think I would."

He scooped up a small bite of his peach pie onto his fork. He cupped his hand underneath it, as he reached over and brought it to her lips. He always got peach pie now. He had since they had gone to

the Godard triple feature. The pie was warm and inviting. He thought Amanda was a peach. Tasted like one, too.

She leaned on the table and looked into his eyes. "It would be nice to see each other more during the daylight hours. If only there wasn't bills to feed and mouths to pay. We should work on that, though."

His heart and head screamed for him to ask her to move with him, but his voice could not produce the words. Softly, he took her hand and held it in his.

Once again, Spencer was staying the night with Amanda at Juan's house. They headed straight for the bedroom so that they could change and lay down. Her head was on his shoulder as he read 'The Hobbit.' They had both read the children's fantasy novel many times before, but they had wanted to read it together, since Peter Jackson was making it into several films.

A couple of pages into the second chapter of the night, they stopped. Lust for each other had taken over.

Basking in the afterglow, Amanda rested her head on his chest. He played with her hair. "A-Amanda?" he whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I-I, uh, I want you to be with me."

"I am, silly."

"No, I mean... I told you my lease is about to be up."

"Right..."

"I'm not renewing it."

"Okay."

"I'd like for you to come live with me."

"You're asking me to move in with you."

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"Are you sure this is what you want? We are still fairly new and this is a big step. If you think you're ready for something like that..."

"I think so. I know I love you. I know I love that your voice is the last thing I want to hear at night, and that I hate when your face isn't the first thing I see in the morning. I'd like to be with you every minute I can."

She turned and faced him. With a kiss, she whispered, "I'd love to."


	80. Chapter 80

**A/N: I found my head, it was in a box underneath the bed. Also, I had some computer troubles. Hence the lack of updates. Debating on whether or not I should just end this story. I don't know.**

**Chapter 80 **

Over morning coffee, Spencer and Amanda had decided to start house hunting right away. Juan walked into the kitchen, stretching. "Morning, sweet cheeks," he yawned.

"Morning, turtle dove."

"I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Boyfriend G-man."

"So, Spence asked me to move with him when his lease is up."

"Really?! Oh, honey, I'm so happy. If you told me after my morning coffee and shower, I'd actually be jumping for joy."

"I'll tell you again later."

"You better. So, when exactly are we talking about?"

"Three weeks this coming Monday." Spencer did not even look up from the newspaper. Amanda almost choked on her coffee. He had never told her the when.

"Oh, so you found a place and you're closing and all papers are signed. You're just now telling me?"

"No, I asked her last night. I barely started looking when Amanda's... I haven't found a place yet. We're going to look together."

Juan looked at him like he was crazy. "You know closing alone can take longer, right? I mean, from first bid to move in, it took me four months with this place."

"I know it can take a while."

"So... what are you going to do if the lease is up and the place isn't ready? If there is a place then. I mean, so long as I don't have to see any crime photos, you're always more than welcome to stay here. I just so do not have the room for an entire apartment full of stuff."

"I can see if my current landlord will give me a month to month, or I could get a storage unit for what I don't think I'll need in the mean time. I'll figure out something." As he took a sip of his coffee, Spencer caught a glimpse of his watch. "I have to get going. We'll start looking tonight." He kissed Amanda and called out a goodbye as he was walking out of the kitchen.

"What, no goodbye kiss for me?" Juan huffed.

"Ask Amanda," Spencer called out from the living room, where he was putting his shoes on.

Juan gave her his best puppy dog eyes. "Where's my goodbye kiss?"

"By proxy?"

"That'll work, I guess."

Amanda and Spencer did not start looking for a home that night. On an average day, they both worked about ten hours. About a month after deciding to move in together, they had only decided on a budget. By that time, Spencer's lease was up. He had been too busy and tired from work to pack, so he kept his apartment on a month-to-month lease.

While Spencer was out of state on a case in mid-August, a hurricane was winding down in the Atlantic. Virginia was experiencing powerful thunderstorms because of this, closing down all airports in the area for several days. Even after his case was closed, he was stuck. He knew it was late on the East Coast; Amanda would be asleep, if the weather would allow it.

Spencer went to his bag and pulled out the USB flash drive that Amanda had given him on Independence Day. He held it tightly in his hand as he stared at the television from his bed. This had become a habit. While away, late at night when he could not sleep, he held that little rhinestone encrusted heart. Another hour passed. Fiddling with the drive, he decided to finally learn what she had put on it.

There was one document file and one audio file. The document was titled 'Read This First, Please.' Clicking on it, Spencer read:

"I was bored one night and, as always, was missing you. So, I made the following. No need to keep it, listen in full... it's yours to do what you will. It's by no means complete, but it's a start. I found 'Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe' at a thrift store. Seeing as you're a fan, I thought would continue our reading nights, to some extent, while you're gone. Read in order of the book, starting with 'Tales of Mystery and Horror.' I don't know, we'll call this an experiment.

Love always,

Amanda"

The audio file seemed large, so he decided to get into bed, setting the laptop on the nightstand. Amanda's voice quickly sang in his ears as she read 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue.' He knew that he missed her, but it was not until now that he realized how much. For about a minute he debated, again, whether to call or text her. Not knowing what to say, if she was awake, pushed the thought out of his mind until the morning.

Spencer, instead, put the audio track on loop, so that these stories she was reading would be playing all night. Linking his fingers behind his head, he closed his eyes. He was more determined than ever to find their new home as quickly as possible. Visions of their new life together danced in his head. As he lay thinking about their book nights in their very own bed, in their new bedroom, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.


End file.
